The Person I Look Up To
by Bill K
Summary: A NeoSailor Moon story: An innocent journey to meet a newly ascended senshi on another planet suddenly devolves into a perilously unstable situation that threatens Queen Serenity's life and severely tests the ability of young Sailor Moon.
1. Sigh Teenagers

THE PERSON I LOOK UP TO

Chapter 1: "Sigh . . .Teenagers"  
A Neo-Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

Sailor Moon and all related characters are (c)2005 by Naoko Takeuchi/Kodansha and Toei Animation and are used without permission, but with respect. Story is (c)2005 by Bill K.

As always, for those only familiar with the English dub:

Usagi/Serenity: Serena

Ami: Amy

Rei: Raye

Makoto: Lita

Minako: Mina

Haruka: Amara

Michiru: Michelle

Setsuna: Trista

Mamoru/Endymion: Darien

Chibi-Usa/Usa: Rini

Finally, Haruka and Michiru are NOT cousins.

* * *

Queen Serenity sat in her study in the palace of Crystal Tokyo. She was at her easel, applying synthetic resin dye to color receptive board with her brush. That was the thirtieth century version of painting. Luna sat quietly in the window and slept in the sun. 

Fidgeting in the chair opposite her was Palla-Palla of the Asteroid Senshi. Serenity glanced at the girl, found her in yet another position from the last time she'd looked, and smiled.

"You fidget just like I did when I was your age," the queen commented.

"Palla-Palla's sorry, Usagi-Mama," Palla-Palla offered penitently, using the title that the queen permitted only in private. "Thank you very much for painting her picture."

"I couldn't very well refuse," Serenity beamed, "given how sweetly you asked and how big and soulful your eyes were."

"Palla-Palla promises she'll sit still," the girl proclaimed. Serenity knew she meant it, but that she wouldn't be able to keep the promise.

"It's all right," the queen said gently. "I've got enough of you down that I think I can finish it without you modeling any longer."

"Can Palla-Palla peek?"

"Certainly," Serenity smiled.

Instantly Palla-Palla scurried over to where the queen was sitting. She looked at the picture as Serenity stroked highlights on the arm of the girl in the portrait.

"Ohhhhhhhh," she gasped. "You're so very good! It's like Palla-Palla is looking at a mirror!"

"Thank you," nodded Serenity. "Wait until you see it when it's done."

"Palla-Palla wishes she could draw as good as you, Usagi-Mama."

"Palla-Palla," Serenity said, momentarily stopping what she was doing. "It's nice to have aspirations, but it's not important to be able to draw as well as I can. It's only important that you can draw as well as you can."

Palla-Palla's brow furrowed, trying to grasp that concept.

"Attribute your sources, Your Majesty," Luna murmured, still curled up in the window. "I believe Michiru once told that to you."

"She did, and she never gave me better advice than that," Serenity said, resuming work on the portrait. "And stop calling me 'Your Majesty'!"

Luna ignored her.

"Palla-Palla still wishes she could draw better," Palla-Palla sighed.

"You don't draw all that badly," Serenity told her. "Let me show you something."

The queen put her brush down and glided over to a dresser. Opening the top drawer, she took out a Crystal Information Storage Retrieval Viewer, which had a jack for information storage crystals and a view screen, and sat back down next to Palla-Palla. As the girl with the blue hair looked on, Serenity opened the file. Inside were drawings of picturesque landscapes. They were technically crude and unaccomplished, but there was a hint of talent and more than a hint of interest.

"Pretty!" gasped Palla-Palla. "Did you draw these, Usagi-Mama?"

"No," Serenity replied with a wistful smile. "Actually these were done by the princess when she was younger. She would sit on one of the balconies or out in the garden and draw the most beautiful landscape portraits. Do you know why I'm showing you these?"

Palla-Palla shook her head.

"I'll tell you. From a technical standpoint, Usa's art is - - unskilled. But if you look at the picture and not how the trees or the grass is drawn, you can see the love and respect she had for the subject when she drew it. So you see, art isn't always about how accurately you recreate something. It's about how passionate you are about the thing you're drawing. And I see passion in everything you draw, Palla-Palla-chan. Do try to get better - - but please don't lose that passion."

The girl beamed at the queen.

"Your Majesty," Luna replied, turning her head toward the queen. "That was quite profound." Then she grew a cynical leer. "Are you certain you're feeling all right?"

"Go back to sleep, Luna," Serenity scowled. Palla-Palla smothered the giggles with her hands.

* * *

Huddled in the quarters shared by the Asteroid Senshi were three of the room's four tenants, plus two guests. The Princess Usagi and Hotaru Tomoe were at a table with Cere-Cere and Jun-Jun, hunched over their portable school stations. The four were studying for an upcoming test - - one of Mizuno-sensei's, so they knew it would be hard. Meanwhile Ves-Ves sat in a chair in one corner of the room, bouncing a basketball.

"Do you HAVE to do that?" Cere-Cere finally roared after she reached the point where she couldn't take it any longer.

"Is it bothering you?" asked Ves-Ves.

"YES!" Cere-Cere snapped.

"Then I guess I have to," Ves-Ves replied with a wicked smile.

"You could also try studying," Jun-Jun suggested.

"Why? I'm going to fail."

"Why do you think that?" Hotaru asked.

"Because Sensei Mizuno-sama is giving the test. I always fail her tests."

"Well you're never going to reverse that trend if you don't study," Jun-Jun argued.

"Leave her alone, Jun," Cere-Cere said. "She's actually done a brave thing in accepting the fact that she's an utter idiot." Usa put her hand to her mouth to cover her giggle.

"At least it's better than being a priss," grumbled Ves-Ves.

"I AM NOT A PRISS!" Cere-Cere snapped.

"Careful. Yelling gives you stress lines."

"For real?" Cere-Cere gasped and fished the compact out of her pants pocket.

Usa put her head on the table next to her station.

"Usa?" Hotaru inquired.

"Why do we have to study vector geometry?" the princess moaned.

"Because some day you may be piloting an intercontinental cruiser and you'll need vector geometry to help you plot the shortest, safest and fastest course to your destination."

"I thought that's why they had on-board computers," Usa grumbled.

"And if the computer goes down?" Hotaru asked.

"I'll buy another one," Usa shrugged. "I'm a princess. I've got money." Hotaru gave her a bemused look.

"Yeah, why do they have to teach us stuff we'll never need to know?" echoed Ves-Ves.

"Who says you'll never need it?" Jun-Jun replied. "Can you see the future now?"

"We don't need stuff like Vector Geometry or Duotronic Computer Programming," the redhead reiterated. "Self-defense we need. You notice I don't fail that."

"Too bad they don't have a course in manners," grumbled Cere-Cere.

The door opened and Palla-Palla entered, smiling sweetly. She seemed more pleased than usual, a fact that caught the eye of her sisters.

"Where you been, Stupid?" Ves-Ves asked, still bouncing the basketball.

"With the Queen," Palla-Palla replied. "She's painting Palla-Palla's picture."

"Conned you into modeling for her, huh?" Usa smiled knowingly.

"Palla-Palla was happy to do it. The Queen is very good." The girl walked directly up to Usa, stopping just inches from her. "You're very good, too, Princess. Palla-Palla didn't know you could draw."

"You draw?" Cere-Cere asked.

"I used to," Usa shrugged. "Did Mom dig up those old drawing files of mine? Honestly she trots those out at the slightest excuse."

"That's right, you used to draw all the time when you were in the twentieth century," Hotaru said.

"Well I used to wet my pants and drool all over myself, too, but I don't anymore."

"Oh yeah, I remember that. It was just last year, wasn't it?" Ves-Ves added.

Usa shot her a venomous glance.

"So why'd you give it up?" Jun-Jun asked.

"Because," Usa scowled. It didn't satisfy the others. "I wasn't any good."

"Yes you were," Palla-Palla persisted.

"Well I wasn't going to be as good as her," Usa replied uncomfortably. "Besides, I've got a creative outlet now - - my singing. And I know I'm good at that."

"Why can't you have more than one creative outlet?" Hotaru asked. "Michiru-Mama is a great artist and a great violinist."

"Can we get back to this?" Usa prodded. "As much as I hate Vector Geometry, I hate flunking more. I really don't want to listen to another one of Mom and Dad's 'you can do better' speeches."

As the students resumed their studies, Palla-Palla wandered over to Ves-Ves.

"Why aren't you studying, Ves-Ves?" Palla-Palla asked.

"Because there's no point," Ves-Ves shrugged. "If I had any money, I'd be at the arcade."

"But Miss Ami-ma'am is going to give us a test tomorrow."

"I know." Ves-Ves looked away. "Why waste my time if I know I'm going to fail?"

Palla-Palla's eyes grew wide. Her mouth opened, stunned, and she just stared at her sister.

"What are you staring at, Stupid?" snapped Ves-Ves.

"You're giving up!" Palla-Palla declared. She sounded almost betrayed.

"You don't get into a fight you can't win unless something important's on the line," the redhead replied. "I don't care about 'grades'."

"You're not even going to try? How are you going to be smart?"

"What do you know about it, Stupid?"

The little amazon's face screwed up in anger.

"That's right! Palla-Palla is stupid! She's always going to be stupid because she can't help it! She's going to be stupid forever and ever and there's nothing she can do about it! But you don't have to be! You can be as smart as anything! But you're not going to be if you don't try!"

"Hey, Palla-Palla, calm down," Cere-Cere said, crossing over to the girl. For her part, Ves-Ves glared at her, stunned and angered by the girl's childish rebuke. "She's just being Ves."

"You said you were going to always look out for Palla-Palla!" howled the girl. "How can you do that if you're as stupid as she is?"

Ves-Ves stared down at her. She felt the stinging humiliation of her sister amazon's words. She saw the naked sense of betrayal etched on the girl's face and felt the remorse and self-loathing it built within her. She could feel it churning into anger, anger that began to seethe and boil and search for a way out. Dr. Mizuno's training clicked in and Ves-Ves clung to it, desperately trying to hold herself back - - for this was Palla-Palla, the one person in the universe above all others she couldn't attack.

To her relief, their senshi communicators sounded.

"All senshi, please report to the throne room," King Endymion announced. The girls instantly folded up their computer stations and headed for the door.

"Palla-Palla?" Jun-Jun inquired when she noticed her sister heading for the corner where her dolls resided. "That was a general summons by the King. We've got to go."

"Palla-Palla doesn't want to," the girl replied. She sat down in the corner with her dolls, her back to everyone.

Everyone looked to Ves-Ves to say something, to apologize or at least somehow mediate the situation somehow. Bent by the weight of the peer pressure upon her, Ves-Ves dropped her gaze to the floor.

"Come on," she grumbled, pushing through everyone and out the door.

In the throne room, Sailor Moon, Sailor Saturn and the Asteroid Senshi - - minus one - - stood in the throne room with their mentors, the original inner senshi. Haruka and Michiru were there as well, though they chose not to transform until they decided it was necessary.

"What's up?" asked Sailor Jupiter. "Is there trouble?"

Queen Serenity was about to speak, but her husband cut her off.

"Where is Sailor Pallas?" Endymion asked.

"Um," Sailor Juno replied too quickly, "she's - - not feeling well."

Sailor Mercury turned to them, concerned.

"It's all right," Serenity said. "What's happening only just barely concerns her anyway. Let the girl be." For a moment, to Sailor Moon and her senshi, it almost seemed like the queen sensed what had happened. Then the moment was gone.

"So what's going on?" Venus asked.

"I've sensed an ascension," Serenity explained. The Asteroids seemed perplexed. "Sailor senshi are not unique to Earth. There are other senshi on other worlds. And when one of those senshi ascends to a higher level of consciousness and power, tradition requires that someone who has previously ascended seek that senshi out and - - mentor her until she fully accepts what she has become and knows how to use her new abilities. I've sensed the ascension of another senshi on another planet, so I have to go and provide all the expertise I have to guide her."

Serenity then glanced at Sailor Mars.

"I wasn't going to say anything," Mars huffed.

Serenity smiled placidly.

"It would have been too easy," Mars added.

Serenity's smile wavered - - just a little.

"So why did you need us?" Sailor Moon posed.

"Tradition also holds," Sailor Mercury explained, "that the ascended queen be accompanied by a senshi to escort her and act as a guardian."

"Guardian?" Saturn asked, concerned. "Will you be in danger?"

"That's doubtful," Serenity smiled. "Usually these exercises involve teaching more than anything else."

"However, the queen will be entering a potentially hostile environment as an alien entity," Endymion added. "There's no telling what could happen, so the escort is assigned to play it safe as much as anything."

"And to guard the queen should she make a mess of things," Mars interjected. "Like the time you went to Cirrus 3?"

"You would bring that up!" fumed Serenity. "They looked like cute bunnies! How was I supposed to know scratching one behind the ear was their way of proposing marriage?"

Several surprised snickers emanated from Sailor Moon and the Asteroids.

"Anyway!" Serenity said emphatically, trying to regain control of the room. "I'll need one of you to accompany me to this world. Endymion can't go because he needs to stay on Earth and watch over the kingdom. I'll need someone who I trust implicitly, someone who can interact with a new race and set them at ease. I need someone who has the power to guard me should it become necessary, but also the judgment and temperament to know what is a dangerous situation and what isn't. We don't need a wrong action turning a potential friendly situation hostile. Above all, the person must be keen-eyed, diplomatic, deferential and yet willing to act, courageous and strong of character. To my mind, everyone in this room fits that description, so the choice must be made on a different basis."

The Queen rose from her throne and walked to the gathered senshi. When she was directly in front of Sailor Moon, she placed her hand on her daughter's shoulder.

"That was the basis for why I chose you, Sailor Moon," Serenity smiled.

"M-ME?" gasped the pink-tressed teen.

Continued in Chapter 2


	2. The Land Of Perpetual Forest

THE PERSON I LOOK UP TO

Chapter 2: "The Land Of Perpetual Forest"  
A Neo-Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

"Why me?" Usa gasped incredulously.

"Why not you?" Queen Serenity replied. She was mildly perplexed by her daughter's attitude. "Usa, I thought you'd love the opportunity." The pair sat in the throne room as they talked. The other senshi had vacated. Now only Endymion and Luna remained, watching the proceedings with fascination.

"Why would you pick me to be your bodyguard?" sputtered Usa. "What about Pop?"

"Your father has to stay here," the queen explained. "One of us has to stay with the kingdom."

"Well what about Aunt Makoto? We both know she'll put someone through a brick wall if they so much as look funny at you."

"Dear, don't exaggerate. Mako-chan isn't - - right for this."

"Well wouldn't Aunt Rei's psychic stuff be more useful?"

"Not necessarily."

"Aunt Ami is smarter . . ."

"And would be distracted by observing an alien race."

"Aunt Minako's more experienced."

"Usa, it's just as important for the queen's escort to make a favorable impression as it is the queen. We'll be going into a strange world with strange customs and a possible mistrust of outsiders. My escort needs to be charming and trustworthy."

Usa digested this.

"So you picked me because people think I'm cute?" she asked.

"Honey, why are you so reluctant to accept this? I trust you to do a good job."

"Yeah, right."

"I do, you little brat!"

"Handing me some ceremonial job to make me look good? Stop spoon-feeding me, Mom! Either I can be Sailor Moon or I can't!"

"You are the most ungrateful child I have ever known!" fumed the queen. "Just forget about it if it's such an imposition on you!"

"Oh now we get down to the truth! Now you think I can't do it!"

"You don't even want to do it!" The queen slumped back into her chair, her arms folded over her chest and her shoulders hunched. "Do whatever you want to do."

"Oh, right, like I've got a choice! I'll be ready to go in fifteen," and she stormed out of the room. Endymion sat in his chair, stunned and confused.

"Once again a dazzling display of parental skills, Your Majesty," Luna sneered. "You must tell me your secret."

"Oh, shut up Luna," scowled the queen.

Out in the hall, Usa found Hotaru waiting for her. The girl quickly fell in step with her best friend.

"So are you going?" Hotaru asked.

"Like I've got a choice," the pink-tressed princess sighed. "I'm sorry you can't go along."

"It's all right," Hotaru shrugged modestly. "You royal folks have to do some things on your own sometimes."

"Knock it off."

"Are you excited?"

"Scared mostly."

"Why?"

Usa sighed. "Why does she even need me along? She can do anything. It'll be just one more chance to wither away in her shadow. I'll smile pretty when they look my way and be bored to tears the rest of the time."

"Well, maybe," Hotaru said softly. "But you could use it as a chance to see a new place. Maybe it's a planet full of beautiful men who love sexy young girls with pink hair."

"Maybe it's a planet full of gross-looking guys who can't talk to girls," Usa shot back. The pair enjoyed a giggle.

Then Usa sobered.

"Hotaru," she whispered, "what if there is trouble? What if I can't handle it? What if I mess up?"

"Just do your best," Hotaru replied.

"Hotaru, doing my best isn't good enough. I'm Queen Serenity's daughter. I have to be perfect every time."

"Usa, you put too much pressure on yourself. Just go and watch your mom work and have fun. Maybe you'll even pick up a pointer on being a better Sailor Moon - - or maybe you'll finally get a chance to step out of your mom's shadow." She flashed Usa a cute grin. "And now you get to skip the test on Vector Geometry tomorrow."

"There is that," Usa nodded in amusement. "We're leaving on the aero-pad in fifteen minutes. See me off?"

"Of course," Hotaru replied reassuringly.

Fifteen minutes later, Sailor Moon and Hotaru Tomoe walked onto the aero-pad atop the palace. Queen Serenity was there, along with King Endymion and the inner senshi. The senshi were gathered around their queen, doing their usual fretting and fussing.

"You're sure you know the way?" Rei asked.

"It's instinctual, Rei," Serenity responded. "Crystals of this much power stand out to the ascended like beacons."

"Got your carrots in case it's another race of rabbit people?" smirked Minako.

"How would you like to sing like a frog for a month?" Serenity glared.

"So do you know what kind of people you're going to meet?" Makoto asked.

"No," Serenity responded. "I'll just follow the energy signature. But I'm sure she's a very nice person."

"Try to remember as much as you can, please?" Ami requested. "And as specifically as you can?"

"I promise, Ami-chan, I'll take you on the next trip," Serenity smiled.

As Usa and Hotaru approached, Sailor Moon glanced back over her shoulder. Jun-Jun, Cere-Cere and Palla-Palla were by the door. Palla-Palla waved to her.

"Good luck, Princess!" Sailor Moon suddenly recognized in her head. She turned back to the Amazons. Palla-Palla beamed at her.

"Goody! You must have heard Palla-Palla, Princess! She tried to speak to you with her thoughts!" It was Palla-Palla's voice, but the girl's lips weren't moving. And Hotaru was right next to her, but wasn't reacting to the words.

"I," Usa began to think, then surrendered to her astonishment. "Um, thanks, Palla-Palla."

There was no response in her mind, but Palla-Palla looked like she got the message. She smiled even more broadly.

"What's up?" Hotaru asked, glancing curiously at Sailor Moon. "Second thoughts?"

"Um, well, yes and no," Sailor Moon answered.

"Right on time," smiled Serenity. "You're certainly better than I am in that regard." She looked her daughter over. "If you don't want to go, please tell me and I'll pick someone else."

"Hey, if you don't want me to go, just say so," scowled Sailor Moon.

The two glared at each other for a few moments. Then Endymion moved between them. He took Serenity's hand in one hand, Sailor Moon's in the other, and forced them to grasp.

"There," he said firmly. "Go."

"Clear your mind, Sailor Moon," Serenity said, her cheeks coloring. Sailor Moon, her own cheeks just as crimson, did as she was asked.

A silver light enveloped them, then grew so bright it forced everyone to look away. When it finally died and everyone looked back, Serenity and Sailor Moon were gone.

"Guide them safely, Kami of the skies," Rei whispered.

To Sailor Moon, the sensation was slightly akin to the effect she felt when she, Saturn and the Asteroid Senshi teleported. Only this was much faster and much more powerful. Sailor Moon always knew her mother dwarfed her in raw power. The Silver Crystal could generate exponentially more energy than her meager pink one could. The time lapse between leaving Earth and appearing on this new planet seemed like a single second.

"Well, that was an uneventful trip," commented Queen Serenity.

Sailor Moon looked around. They stood in an immense grove of trees that stretched as far as could be seen. The trees were thick and sturdy, as if they had been growing for a thousand years. To her estimation, the trunk of the nearest one was five feet in circumference and probably stood nearly three hundred feet in the air. Every tree was alive with thick clumps of green leaves arranged in ways so that golden beams of sunlight came through and lit up the ground in a kaleidoscope pattern of light and shadow. Concealed under the branches were thick clumps of blue and violet berries, clumps as thick as her head. The bark of the tree seemed soft from the look of it. At the feet of the huge trees were smaller bushes and a carpet of lush grasses. A fragrance wafted through the air that seemed hauntingly familiar, and yet Sailor Moon couldn't quite place it - - like several scents had blended together in an unfamiliar way.

"Is this where we're supposed to be?" Sailor Moon asked.

"Yes," Queen Serenity replied calmly. "I can feel the crystal. It's quite close."

"But - - there aren't any buildings."

"Maybe they don't use them," was all Serenity said.

"So where is everybody? There's no people, no animals, nothing."

Serenity seemed to concentrate on that for the first time.

"You're right," she said. "Perhaps they're trying to see if we're a threat."

With that, two figures descended from the trees and landed on the ground near Serenity and Sailor Moon. They were a man and a woman, human from their appearance. The woman's hair was snow white, as was the man's, and flowed down her back in a cascading mane that ended at her knees, while scruffy bangs dangled across her forehead. She was several inches taller than Serenity and Sailor Moon and her beautiful face looked at them with penetrating emerald eyes. She seemed youthful, perhaps twenty, and clearly made the outdoors her home. Her body was trim and fit, very athletic. It was clad only in a tight-fitting white sleeveless dress made of the pelt of a shaggy animal and held up by a single strap over the right shoulder, while a scalloped hem cut in a 'v' shape draped high on her powerful thighs. Completing her look were silver wristlets, sandals with long straps crisscrossing up her calves and a large jeweled pendant she wore around her neck.

Her companion stood inches taller than she did. He was youthful as well, perhaps in his early twenties, with an energetically handsome face and penetrating emerald eyes as well. His body was lean and sculpted from years of physical exertion, and his broad shoulders and smooth skin caught Sailor Moon's eye for more than a second. He wore only a white pelt loin cloth, the same type of sandals and wristlets as the woman, and a pendant that lacked only the jewels.

"Name yourselves and your business," the woman demanded. Her voice was strong and unafraid, colored only with suspicion. The man deferred to her, but was poised to defend her at the slightest provocation.

Sailor Moon crouched defensively, the Crescent Wand out and ready to use. However a gentle hand on her shoulder told her to relax.

"I am Queen Serenity of Earth," Serenity stated with her gentlest, most friendly manner. "This is my daughter, Sailor Moon. May I know who I am addressing?"

The man and woman looked them over for a moment.

"Until recently I was known as Sailor Hayashi of Kinotai," the woman said. She had a fearlessness about her that Sailor Moon found impressive. "I am now known as Queen Shinrin."

"And I was once Kamen Irori," the man added. He seemed supremely confident and that confidence gave him a calm serenity that, coupled with his physical stature, served to make him seem very attractive to young Sailor Moon. "I am now Danro Ganjou."

"And your new identities are connected with the recent ascension you both experienced, correct?" Serenity inquired.

"You are not of this place. How do you know this?" Shinrin asked.

"You have gained power and insight that dwarfs what you previously knew," Serenity continued. "You are perhaps uncertain as to how to control such power. I once experienced such an ascension and went through the same doubts and uncertainties. I offer you my experience and my advice, if you will have it, as another once guided me."

Shinrin and Danro Ganjou glanced at each other. Sailor Moon could tell there was a bond between them, much like the bond between her parents - - or between her and Helios.

"And what do you receive in return for this?" Danro Ganjou asked.

"A friend," Serenity replied with her warmest smile.

"And if I decline?" Shinrin asked.

"Then I will go," Serenity replied. "Should you change your mind or need me in the future, you need only reach out with your new power and call me. I will come. The choice is yours, Queen Shinrin."

The couple looked at each other again. To Sailor Moon, it almost seemed like they were intimate enough to know each other's thoughts. After a few moments, they turned back to her and her mother.

"I will - - confess that my new level of power baffles me from time to time," Shinrin admitted. "If you are willing to train me to become its master, I will accept you as my teacher."

"I'm glad," Serenity smiled warmly.

"Then I bid you welcome to the home forest of the ruling queen of Clan Hayashi," Shinrin said, her manner warming up to the visitors.

Immediately people began dropping from the trees all around them. Sailor Moon was startled at first and crouched defensively. Then she noticed that neither her mother nor Shinrin and Danro seemed startled or fearful. Cursing her ignorance, the young princess straightened up.

"My people bid you welcome as well," Shinrin smiled, amused by Sailor Moon's embarrassment.

In a moment's time there were thirty people surrounding them, each one gazing at the pair of strangers curiously. They seemed to come in all shapes, sizes, sexes and ages, yet they had some things in common. All the men wore mere loincloths and sandals, while all the females wore the same short-hemmed close fitting dresses. Some were pastels, mostly green or yellow with an occasional brown mixed in. Everyone's hair was long and scruffy, though the color varied from pure white to pale yellow, with an occasional brown mixed in.

And every person, from the youngest child of five to the oldest in his late forties was phenomenally fit. The thought occurred to Sailor Moon that perhaps these people lived in trees rather than buildings, like an entire race of ape men.

Then one lad in his late teens, with courage bred of curiosity, ventured forward. His hair was a pale yellow, his body lean and wiry and oh so smooth, and his face decorated with inquisitive coral eyes and a sensitive young mouth, ventured toward her. Sailor Moon didn't know what to make of him and froze. These people had shown no intent on attacking, so Sailor Moon didn't think it was wise to assume a defensive posture again. They were trying to make friends with these people.

But he just kept coming closer, so close that he made her nervous. What did he want?

The youth was near enough to touch her. He seemed mesmerized by her. The princess suddenly wished Helios was behind her. She swallowed nervously. Then he reached out to her.

And took the pink hair from one of her dangling gathers in his hand.

"Your hair," he gasped, oblivious to how uncomfortable he was making her. "It's color is so - - so strange."

"Yeah, I get that a lot," Sailor Moon said uneasily.

"Shoko," Danro Ganjou said with pronounced patience, "you are making our guest uncomfortable."

The youth's eyes widened in horror, as if realizing his mistake for the first time. He dropped Sailor Moon's hair like it was on fire and backed away several paces.

"F-Forgive me," he gasped, terror-stricken that he had offended them. "I was just - - I mean - - it's just that she's so - - um, I meant no offense!"

"No offense was taken, Shoko," Queen Serenity said sweetly. Her hands came to rest on Sailor Moon's shoulders. "And please don't feel bad. You're not the first boy who's been entranced by my daughter's beauty and you probably won't be the last."

Sailor Moon's cheeks burned with mortification.

"Your forgiving nature makes me happy, Queen Serenity," Shinrin said. "Your daughter is indeed quite exotic-looking. I suppose poor Shoko didn't stand a chance. Perhaps something might just develop from this visit besides our friendship?"

"My daughter's already spoken for," Serenity replied. "And please call me Serenity. I'm not a queen here."

"How fortunate for the mate you have chosen for your daughter," her counterpart replied. "And you must call me Shinrin, then. Do you wish food?"

"If it's not an imposition," beamed Serenity. "I've never seen the wisdom in turning down a meal."

"A wise queen you are, then," giggled Shinrin. She turned to the others. "Prepare food for our guests. We will dine before sunset."

The crowd immediately broke up to make preparations. Shinrin and Serenity began to talk about Shinrin's newly borne power while Danro hovered protectively behind her. Sailor Moon began to accompany them, then turned and looked back. Shoko was hurrying off to fulfill his obligations in dinner preparations. She looked him over again.

He was cute. Of course she loved Helios and would always love him. There wasn't any question about that. But now that there was a safe distance between them, she realized that Shoko was definitely cute- - forbidden fantasy cute.

With a lustful sigh, the pink-haired senshi returned to her mother's side.

Continued in Chapter 3


	3. Ruling Philosophy

THE PERSON I LOOK UP TO

Chapter 3: "Ruling Philosophy"  
A Neo-Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

Michiru Kaioh cut through the water of the swimming pool like a jet-propelled torpedo, her wake washing over the lane markers in the pool. Though she was swimming at top speed,her utter calm and contentment gave her stroke an effortless quality and invigorated her rather than tired her.

Oh, it had been so long. Her time as a prisoner on Ravenheim and then her recuperation from injuries suffered during that period had effectively denied her the water that she so loved. Looking back on being deprived of so many things - - of Haruka, of freedom, of her art and music, of the simple pleasure of feeling the water envelope her in its safe, soft embrace - - how did she endure it and remain sane?

Ami watched her swim from a vantage point in the pool. She wore a conservative blue one piece suit, high cut in contrast to Michiru's audaciously low cut, scooped back green suit. Ami could have just as easily monitored Michiru from out of the pool - - but that would have been no fun. As a hopeless water baby, the doctor had long since given up resisting the siren call of the water. However, even in the pool she was business-like. Her watchful eye sifted through Michiru's speedy stroke and focused on the movement of her legs, noting the power of her kick and the suppleness of movement.

Michiru reached out and touched the side of the pool at the end of the lane, then pulled up. She treaded water as she turned to her physician.

"How did you feel during those laps?"Ami asked.

"Great!" exhaled Michiru. "Oh, Ami, it's been so long! I haven't felt this good since my first night back with Haruka!"

"Well," Ami began, reflexively checking the holographic monitor display to conceal her discomfort, "that's encouraging. Your vital signs are all excellent and your range of movement seemed nearly normal. Do you feel any pain or stiffness?"

"None." Michiru laid her head back on the rim of the pool. "And it's about time, too. I was beginning to give up hope that I'd ever recover."

"I warned you it would be an arduous process, didn't I? But I think you've just about made it back."

"My kick's not as strong as it used to be," Michiru confessed. "Will that be permanent?"

"I doubt it. Your muscles are still regaining their strength. All the damage has been healed. It's just a question of building them back up to their previous levels." Ami checked her readouts again. "In fact, this might be the perfect regimen for doing that. Aqua therapy is a legitimate option, despite its age."

"Really?" Michiru inquired, excitement dancing in her eyes.

"Yes, provided you don't overdo it. I think a half hour to an hour a day swimming for no more than three days a week should show very promising results over time."

"That's the sort of prescription I can get behind," the green-tressed artist said. Then she smiled mischievously. "Care for a race, Doctor?"

"Michiru," Ami sighed, "you know I'm not a competitive person."

"I just thought you might like to try," Michiru smirked. "After all, with me not at 100 per cent yet, you might actually have a chance of beating me."

Ami was about to respond, but suddenly a message was piped through the room's computer environmental control.

"Dr. Mizuno," the computer said flatly. "The time is 09:00. You are due in classroom one."

"Oh dear!" gasped Ami, hauling herself out of the pool. "I took longer with this than I planned! I have teaching duties this morning! Please forgive me, Michiru!"

"It's all right," Michiru smiled.

"Honestly, I get in the water and just completely lose my mind," Ami muttered as the robotic drying rod passed over her body, evaporating the water in her hair and on her skin.

"I know the feeling," Michiru sympathized.

"Computer!" Ami said as she scurried for the changing room. "Initiate holographic Ami program in classroom one. Convey my apologies at being late to the students, then initiate test three for Vector Geometry."

"Acknowledged," the computer replied.

"Michiru, please remember," Ami said just before disappearing into the changing room. "Don't overdo it. You've already been in the pool for twenty minutes. No more than an hour total."

"Understood, Doctor," Michiru said to the rapidly disappearing Dr. Mizuno. Then she pushed off the side of the pool with her feet and lazily glided down the lane on her back. "But then I've also been known to lose track of time once I get in the water."

And Michiru grew a very contented smile.

* * *

Sailor Moon greeted the morning with her usual distaste. Rather than being awaken by her environmental computer unit in her room, though, she was awakened by the strange songs of strange birds and the peak of sun through clusters of leaves. It was an odd change of pace, but a pleasant one, reminiscent of the mornings in Elysian during one of her visits. She gradually pulled herself from slumber, shifting in the cozy nook she'd made for herself. After a few minutes, the girl realized that she was awake to stay. With a sigh of frustration, she rolled over.

And nearly fell out of the tree she was sleeping in. Quick action by her hands and feet, coupled with a very undignified squeal of alarm, kept her on the branch.

"Oh yeah," she sighed, grimacing. "Kinotai."

The girl searched her body mentally, expecting to be stiff and sore. To her surprise, she wasn't. As their hosts had promised the night before, the bark of the Louna tree was surprisingly soft and cushiony, and one could find a very comfortable sleeping place where bough met trunk. Sailor Moon and her mother had both been skeptical, but tried it in order to be diplomatic guests. The results were a lot better than she expected.

"You're not used to sleeping in trees, are you?" Danro Ganjou said. Sailor Moon turned and found him balanced effortlessly on the tree limb, his near naked, muscular form looking very imposing in the morning light. She wondered if he and the rest of these people were part monkey.

"Does it show?" Sailor Moon responded, smiling uncomfortably. He seemed amused by her response. With very little motion, so as not to disturb the limb and upset Sailor Moon's balance, Danro dropped to the ground thirteen feet below.

"Come," he waved to her. "The spring is nearby. You may wash the taste of morning out of your mouth."

"You people have that too, huh?" Sailor Moon said. With considerably less grace than he showed, Sailor Moon eased herself over the limb until she dangled by her hands. Her feet were still eight feet from the ground and the girl tried to talk herself into just dropping.

"Do not fear," Danro told her jauntily. "I will catch you."

"Look, just because I'm not used to climbing trees as a way of life," Sailor Moon replied, releasing her hold on the limb and dropping to the ground, "doesn't mean I'm helpless." She stood up from her crouch and dusted off her gloves.

"My apologies for offending you," Danro replied with a laugh. He turned and headed off,  
expecting Sailor Moon to follow.

Curious, she did. Danro led her through a small thicket of trees and bushes. When the forest parted, she found a crystal blue stream. Several of the other members of Queen Shinrin's 'clan', as she referred to them, were already there, gathering water in shaped wooden vessels, drinking or splashing the water upon their faces and arms. Without hesitation, Danro knelt down to the stream and cupped some water to his mouth with his hands.

"I don't think I've ever seen water this clear," Sailor Moon gasped. She peered down into the stream and saw her reflection almost as clearly as if she was looking in a mirror. "The filtration crystals back home don't even get it this clear!"

She knelt down in the grass and dipped her hand in. The sip trickled down her throat like liquid gold.

"Hey, it tastes different," Sailor Moon exclaimed. "It's good - - but it doesn't taste quite like the water on Earth."

"Perhaps there are different elements in this water that do not exist on your world," Danro suggested. "Or perhaps your water has elements that dull the natural taste. Who can say?"

Sailor Moon looked around at the others by the river. Everyone looked happy.

"You're the leader of this 'clan'," Sailor Moon observed, "and yet you don't have any problem mixing with the others."

"Why would I? We are all one in our dedication to our Queen Shinrin. We pledge to follow her and to accept her beliefs as truth and she in turn protects us and guides us. Just because I am luckier than others because my Shinrin has chosen to share her more intimate life with me doesn't place me above anyone else."

"That's sort of the way my Mom talks," Sailor Moon replied. "It must come with the crystal."

"Your mother,' Danro inquired, "she had been ascended long?"

"Almost a thousand years."

"You are that old?" Danro gasped in amazement.

"She's that old. I'm only sixteen. Aunt Ami explained it to me once. Part of the power of the crystal is that it keeps her and her defenders ageless for a thousand years. Mom and Dad and all my aunts are over a thousand. She says I'll live a thousand years, too. I don't know if that's good or not."

"And then after a thousand years have passed, what will happen?"

Sailor Moon's brow furrowed. "I'm not sure. Mom's mother died in battle with Queen Beryl. And nobody knows about before that."

Danro rolled back on his heels. Suddenly a very contented smile covered his face. Sailor Moon looked at him inquiringly.

"I was just thinking," he replied to her unspoken question. "Thinking of sharing my Shinrin's life for a thousand years."

Elsewhere, Queen Serenity was levitating down to the ground from the bough she had slept on. As she glided to the ground, Serenity couldn't help but admire the natural beauty of the forest floor as illuminated by the peeks of morning sun through the dense foliage. Her slipper touched down on the grassy floor. She turned to a movement to one side.

Shinrin was bounding down the side of the tree with the speed and dexterity of any woodland creature back home. Her hands found holds where there seemed to be none. Her descent seemed at once speedy and graceful. With her long white hair flowing behind her,  
Shinrin made the final few feet in a bold leap and landed on the ground near Serenity.

"Serenity, you must teach me how to do that!" Shinrin gasped excitedly, her eyes dancing. "To hold yourself aloft as the birds do! It's so remarkable!"

"Only if you've never done it," Serenity replied modestly. "I'll be glad to teach you, but can we eat first? I've never met a morning where I wasn't hungry."

"You are hungry! Of course! Wait here."

Shinrin turned and dashed toward the nearest tree at top speed. When Serenity thought the woman was about to crash headlong into the very solid trunk of the tree, Shinrin pushed off and sailed toward the tree. Her momentum allowed her to run up the side of the tree several feet before gravity slowed her ascent. The woman merely pushed off the tree and executed a fantastic double somersault in the air, reaching out at the last moment to pluck something from amid a cluster of leaves on a limb. Shinrin arced to the ground, landing with the ease of a cat. She brought out the prize she cradled to her, presenting them to Serenity.

"What are they?" Serenity asked, staring at the cluster of berries in Shinrin's hands.

"They are Simpa Berries," Shinrin smiled. "They are quite good. Try one."

Curious, Serenity reached out and plucked one from the cluster. Trusting her host, Serenity popped the berry into her mouth.

"It is good!" gasped Serenity. "Oh my, this is like eating a whole box of candy!"

"I'm glad the taste is familiar to you. The berries are so delicious, we sometimes have to monitor our young so they do not gorge themselves."

Serenity stopped, her tenth berry hovering just outside her mouth. She looked sheepishly at Shinrin, suddenly remembering her manners.

"Do not fear," Shinrin giggled. "Simpa Berries are both nutritious and plentiful. You may eat your fill. I will trust your judgment to know when to stop."

"I hope I can," Serenity replied, her mouth full of berries.

The pair reclined against the trunks of two trees, eating berries and talking.

"So tell me, Shinrin," Serenity ventured. "How many are in this 'clan' of yours?"

"Our last count was seventy-two," Shinrin recounted. "That was after the attack."

"Attack? Are you at war with someone?"

"The Torgus Clan," Shinrin replied, scowling. "They defy the holy spirit of the forest. They wish to eradicate the forest. As Sailor Hayashi, I have sought to stop them, to bring them to the word and make them see the light." Shinrin grew melancholy. "I was aided by my darling mate, in his role as Kamen Irori, and by my two friends and guardians, Sailor Kokoro and Sailor Eichi."

"If you'd rather not go on . . ." Serenity whispered.

"No, the sadness will not defeat me," Shinrin proclaimed. "Many died in the attack. Many trees were lost, and many lost mates or children or parents. I lost my two good friends, Kaiki - - who was Sailor Kokoro - - and Shintoru - - who was Sailor Eichi."

Serenity looked on helplessly.

"It was only through my ascension, which delivered the power to me in my darkest hour, that allowed me to save my wonderful Danro. Without him I would truly have been lost." Suddenly she looked up at Serenity, focusing on her with a desperation born of loss and agony. "Teach me, Serenity! I feel the power rumbling in my breast! It is like a caged animal, roaring out for vengeance! Teach me how to release it, to control it! I am eager to learn."

"That's why I'm here, Shinrin," Serenity smiled warmly. Then her smile dimmed and her gaze dropped. "Forgive me if I abuse your hospitality and warm friendship, but I feel I should say this. I've never been known as a very smart person, but there are a few things I've learned to be true over my long life. One of those things is the futility of vengeance. Forgive me if I've misinterpreted things, but I hope you aren't letting the genuine and rightful pain you feel for the loss you've endured push your soul toward the thirst for vengeance. It's not the way, Shinrin. It only sends you and your enemy down a spiral path to mutual destruction and robs your world of all that you and your enemy can contribute were there only peace."

"But why would such power come to you if not to aid you in protecting that which you hold most dear?" Shinrin countered.

"Protection and vengeance are two different things, Shinrin," Serenity said. "Protecting life and all who live it is the noble height to which you should aspire. That allows your power and spirit to grow and flower for the benefit of all."

"Guardian of the way," nodded Shinrin. "It is all I have ever aspired to, Serenity. You need not worry. While I grieve still for those fallen of my clan and for my fallen friends, I seek only to use my new gifts to right that which is wrong and to spread the sacred word of the forest to those who cannot see it. Nothing more."

Serenity grasped Shinrin's hand.

"That's the first step, Shinrin," Serenity said. "My, that was a good breakfast."

"You are contented?" Shinrin asked. Serenity nodded. "Then may we begin? I am very eager to learn!"

"All right," Serenity smiled. "But pace yourself, please. Otherwise you'll wear me out."

Sailor Moon wandered back from the stream to check on whether her mother was up yet. After all, the sun hadn't reached its highest point in the sky yet, so she might still be curled up in her bough sleeping.

Not that she wouldn't mind doing that herself. Sometimes she was as lazy as her mom was.

"Ewww!" Sailor Moon gasped to herself. "No way do I fall in that trap! I can't let myself be infected by Mom's bad habits."

The teen didn't move at a very fast pace to check up on her charge. There was something about this land that was making her feel different from the modern life of Crystal Tokyo.

"It's so rusti c- - so primitive," Sailor Moon thought. "An entire developed society that lives in trees? I don't think I've seen a hint of a building yet - - or metal, for that matter, except for those medallions that Shinrin and Danro wear. It's so completely uncivilized, and yet it seems to be an orderly society at first glance."

She wandered along, looking as a quartet of young children ran past her, laughing and playing. They, like the adults, wore only simple dresses or loincloths and seemed very fit for their age.

"And everyone looks so healthy and energetic," Sailor Moon mused. "Particularly the guys. I can see why Shinrin is attracted to Danro. He's - - very impressive and yet very sensitive. I wonder if they're all like that?" She smiled to herself. "I wonder if Shoko's like that?"

Suddenly Sailor Moon's eyes grew wide with alarm.

"Helios, if you're listening, you DIDN'T HEAR THAT!" the girl thought.

Sailor Moon entered a small clearing. She found Serenity and Shinrin there. Serenity was instructing Shinrin on how to mentally mold a rock into something else. Leaning against a tree, the pink-haired teen watched her mother coach the white-tressed woman with a sure, gentle manner. It was at times like this that she admired her mother, times when it seemed that nothing was beyond her mother's power and no one was beneath her gentle soul. Seeing her like this struck memory chords from her childhood when she would secretly observe her mother and pine to be a fine and beautiful lady some day.

What happened between them to change that? Sailor Moon sighed wistfully.

Shinrin held her hands over the rock. At Serenity's soft urging, Shinrin's demeanor shifted from intense concentration to a distant trance-like state. And after a few moments, the rock's very essence seemed to shift. As Sailor Moon watched, the rock shimmered like a mirage. When it came back into focus, it was no longer a rock. Instead, it was a medium-sized water vessel. Shinrin opened her eyes, unsure of what to expect. When she saw the water vessel, the woman let out a squeal of happy surprise, then launched herself at Serenity and hugged the woman. Sailor Moon felt good for her, and just a little envious.

Then she noticed Danro standing by another tree several yards away. He was watching what had happened, too. There was pride and happiness in his demeanor - - but to young Sailor Moon, it almost seemed like there was something more. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something just didn't feel right.

Continued in Chapter 4


	4. Words and Misunderstandings

THE PERSON I LOOK UP TO

Chapter 4: "Words and Misunderstandings"  
A Neo-Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

With the daytime sun beginning to set in the west over Kinotai, life among the clan of Queen Shinrin began to wind down. That was an incredible relief to Sailor Moon.

The teen senshi sat against the foot of a towering tree, munching on Simpa berries and watching the orange remnants of the sun's reflection in the nearby stream as the sun disappeared over the horizon and the water flowed south. From time to time a member of the clan would walk by, carrying water or food, tending to children or guarding the perimeter from intruders. Each time the person would glance at Sailor Moon and smile, friendship radiating from green or gray or violet eyes. Each time Sailor Moon would nod back. They seemed friendly enough people, though a bit more active than the teen could cope with.

Sailor Moon popped another sweet Simpa berry into her mouth. Spending time with these people certainly explained why they were so fit and athletic. Everyone's day was filled with working to support the clan. Food needed to be gathered, clothes made or mended, children taught and supervised, and most importantly the trees of the forest needed to be tended to. Trees were very important to this society, revered as the givers of food and protection, but even more as givers of a spirituality that the members of the clan could look up to and learn from.

"Cere-Cere would love this place," Sailor Moon mumbled to herself, grinning.

One of the males of the clan walked by. He was carrying a little girl, probably three or four, while two older children followed eagerly. The male was in his late twenties and exuded a rugged, wiry, primitive attractiveness that a lot of the males on this planet seemed to possess. Sailor Moon's eyes drifted after the man as he lovingly cradled the little girl.

"Wooo," the teen sighed, returning to watching the stream. "I wonder if 'Kinotai' means 'paradise' in the local language?"

"Care to share some of those berries?" she heard and looked up. Her mother was standing over her. Without waiting for an invitation, Queen Serenity sat down next to her daughter.

"Finally wore Queen Shinrin out?" Sailor Moon asked, handing over some of the berries.

"More like she finally wore me out," Serenity moaned, then downed several of the sweet berries. "The woman is insatiable! She's so excited about learning to control her new power and so energetic! She absorbs everything I teach her and always wants more. Honestly, when I first ascended, I was scared to death of the new power I had. But she treats it like it's a gift on Christmas."

"It seems to be like that for most of the people here," the pink-tressed senshi said. "Anything bad happens, they accept it and keep moving. Anything good happens and they treat it like it was a gift from heaven." Sailor Moon thought. "Mom, how long do you suppose this society has been like this?"

"Shinrin says things have been this way for thousands of years."

"With no progress? The place is at a scientific standstill. There are no machines. You hardly even see any metal, except for the stuff the Queen and Danro wear. It's weird."

"It's different," Serenity corrected her. "Shinrin says they're very devout in their worship of the trees. Their society is dedicated to caring for the trees. That seems to be more important to them than scientific discovery. To each their own, Sailor Moon. We've no right to judge the value of another's beliefs."

"I wasn't judging them," scowled Sailor Moon. "It's just - - strange." She thought silently for a few moments. "What do you think of Danro?"

"He's very dedicated to Shinrin," Serenity replied. "Very loyal. And VERY handsome. Almost heart-stoppingly handsome."

"MOTH-THER!" gasped Sailor Moon.

"Now, dear, I love your father and I will always love your father," Serenity cautioned. "But just because I'm over a thousand years old doesn't mean I can't appreciate a handsome man any longer. And oh my is Danro handsome."

"You're disgusting," scowled the teen.

"Why did you bring him up?"

"It seems," Sailor Moon hesitated. "I don't know. He just seems way too interested in Shinrin's new power."

"He's probably just delighted to see her develop," Serenity reasoned. "Like I said, he seems very loyal to her. He's probably thrilled to see her accomplish so much. Shinrin is a very quick study. A lot quicker than I was."

"Yeah, I'll bet," snickered Sailor Moon.

Just then, the native youth Shoko crossed into view and knelt down next to Sailor Moon. He had a huge bunch of Simpa berries cupped in his hands. The youth offered them to Sailor Moon.

"Um," Sailor Moon began hesitantly, because the light was just at the proper point to highlight the firm, taut muscles in Shoko's chest and arms and thighs, yet cast his face in brooding shadows. "No thanks, I'm pretty full."

"I'll take them," Serenity smiled. Shoko nodded without taking his eyes off of Sailor Moon and handed the berries to the queen.

"Are you happy in your stay, Sailor Moon?" Shoko asked, entranced by the girl.

"Yeah, it's nice. It's a nice place," she replied.

"I am glad. You guard your queen well. I'm sure you are a very brave and powerful guardian."

"I'm sure she is, too," Serenity smiled. Sailor Moon's cheeks began to burn.

"Your cheeks grow red," Shoko gasped. "Are you sick?"

"No, it's," Sailor Moon began. "No."

"Ah, good," Shoko nodded enthusiastically. He seemed to gather up his courage. "Great Queen Serenity, may I speak with your guardian?"

"You seemed to be doing a pretty good job of it already," Serenity smiled. Shoko gave her a pained look. "Oh! Alone! Certainly. I can find a comfy branch to eat these delicious berries on."

With that, Serenity levitated up to one of the branches above them. Instantly Sailor Moon got to her feet, quickly followed by Shoko. She had an innate feeling where this was going and was surreptitiously looking for a means of escape.

"I-I was very disappointed to learn that you were pledged," Shoko said. "Since the moment I first saw you, I have thought of little else but you. You are quite beautiful, Sailor Moon."

"Thank you, Shoko," the teen swallowed.

"Were you pledged by your parents?"

"By my . . .?" Sailor Moon asked. "You mean arranged? No, I love Helios. We pledged to each other."

Shoko grimaced.

"I would fight him for you," Shoko announced.

"What?"

"I would prove the strength of my desire for you - - prove my strength and fitness to sire your young. I would fight him for you."

"Are you serious?"

"And I would win!" Shoko proclaimed. "For losing would mean losing hope of being with you - - and I suddenly can't bear such a thought."

"Look," Sailor Moon began, backing away from Shoko's masculine presence, "that's not why I love Helios! Shoko, you're probably a nice guy, but I would still love Helios even if you did win some 'fight'. It's not about how strong he is or how handsome he is. It's about who he is."

"No!" Shoko gasped, grasping Sailor Moon by the upper arms. "You must give me a chance! You must!"

Sailor Moon tried to break away, but the youth was very strong. Quickly the point became moot when Queen Serenity glided down from the branch she had been sitting on. Instantly Shoko ripped his hands away.

"Is something wrong?" Serenity asked.

Shoko, for his part, couldn't find words to speak with. Sailor Moon's gaze sought the ground.

"Maybe you better go," the princess said to Shoko. The youth seemed to want to protest, but the presence of Queen Serenity intimidated him enough to push him into leaving.

"Usa?" her mother inquired. Sailor Moon felt her cheeks burning again and silently cursed herself.

"Serenity, is everything all right?" Shinrin asked, approaching them.

"It's nothing," Sailor Moon told them both. "I'll handle it."

Serenity seemed to want to probe further. Instead, she turned to Shinrin and said, "Forgive us for disturbing you. There doesn't seem to be anything greatly wrong."

"Was Shoko bothering you?" Shinrin persisted.

"Just a misunderstanding," Serenity alibied. "Please put it out of your mind."

Shinrin nodded and moved off. Serenity turned back to Sailor Moon, but the girl was already wandering away, her desire to be alone obvious even to the queen.

* * *

Ves-Ves usually dreaded going to her anger management psychotherapy sessions with Dr. Mizuno. Part of why she dreaded it was because it was time out of her life that she didn't control and Ves-Ves had a deep-seeded need to live her life her way. Part of why she dreaded it was that Dr. Mizuno insisted on making her dredge up and examine all the painful portions of her life. If she wanted to remember how her father beat her mother, she would. If she wanted to recall how she lived on the street and learned the hard way that you had to fight harder, run faster and seize opportunities quicker or you didn't survive, she'd keep a scrapbook. And then there was her time under Queen Neherenia's spell. They were painful memories of a past she didn't want to remember and recalling them was like picking open a scab.

If it weren't for the fact that they were actually making some progress in resolving her repressed anger with life in general, she'd have stopped coming long ago.

The teen paused just outside of the door sensor's range. She was dreading this session even more than usual, though. Momentarily she contemplated running away - - but one of the things life in the slums of Sao Paolo taught her was that running from a threat only invited it to attack your unguarded back. She stepped forward and the door hissed open.

"Good afternoon, Ves-Ves," Dr. Mizuno said, looking up from her computer terminal. Her glasses were perched on her nose as usual. Ves-Ves always thought it odd-looking, but the princess once explained that Dr. Mizuno was allergic to the regenerative eye tissue solution usually used to eliminate astigmatism and had to use old fashioned eyeglasses. "Please sit down."

Same as usual. Dr. Mizuno could be so predictable.

"I'm going to deviate from where we left off last time," Ami said. "I hesitate to bring classroom behavior into these sessions, but I think this might be related to what we're dealing with."

Here it comes.

"I was very shocked at your score on the Vector Geometry test, Ves-Ves," Ami related, looking at her over those glasses perched on her nose. "I know math and geometry aren't your strengths, but I didn't expect this. Did you even study at all?"

"No," Ves-Ves replied. The girl crossed her arms over her chest, body-language Ami recognized only too well.

"Why not?"

"Why?" She saw the answer didn't satisfy Dr. Mizuno. "I was going to fail it anyway, so why bother? Why do something you don't like doing if it isn't going to pay off?"

"A legitimate question," Ami nodded. "It assumes you aren't going to receive a reward for enduring an odious task, though."

"I wasn't going to pass."

"Ves-Ves, testing is a means of measuring achievement, not status. It's a way for a good educator to see how much of her teaching got through and was retained, so she can go back and reinforce what wasn't learned. And it's a way for the student to see that as well and possibly go back on their own to learn what wasn't retained the first time. It's not a means of judging the value of a person."

"Why do I even need to know Vector Geometry anyway?" grumbled Ves-Ves.

"Were you ever planning on owning an aircar?" Ami asked her. "Piloting an aircar, even a short range city model, requires a passing knowledge of vector geometry to obtain a license. I admit it isn't a skill that is used every day, but it can be handy to know in this computerized age of ours. Not learning it puts you at a disadvantage in society and I would think that, given your background, you wouldn't want another barrier to success in your way."

Ves-Ves remained silent.

"Of course, if you don't try, it gives you a built in excuse to fail later on," Ami added. "It can become easy to fall back on your disadvantaged youth as an excuse for every failure in life. It can even become a reason not to try to succeed at anything."

"I'm not going to do that!" snapped Ves-Ves. "You sound just like Jun."

"And you resent that?" Ami observed. "From the tone of your voice, this is another thing that makes you angry." Ves-Ves stared at the floor. "You think Jun-Jun, as a member of your surrogate family, should be more supportive of your wishes, correct?"

The girl's lips thinned.

"Is it more? Perhaps Jun-Jun isn't the only one objecting to this behavior?" Ami continued. "Someone else - - someone whose opinion and approval you desire? Palla-Palla, perhaps?"

Ves-Ves glared at Dr. Mizuno.

"You want to abdicate responsibility for bettering yourself because it's too hard and you want your family to automatically approve of this self-destructive behavior," Ami summed up, "and you grow angry when they don't."

"THAT'S NOT HOW IT IS!" Ves-Ves snapped.

"Then tell me where I erred," Ami replied calmly.

"Man, there's just no winning against you!" Ves-Ves fumed. "You've got an answer for everything!"

"Do you know why?" Ami asked. "It's because your problems aren't unique to you. They're problems that have been suffered by humanity since there was humanity. Too many people think their woes are unique only to themselves, when in reality they're just the latest in a long line of people suffering from it."

Ves-Ves remained silent.

"If you think your 'sisters' are being too hard on you, you should have been raised by my mother," Ami told her. "I had as voracious an appetite for learning as anyone I've known, and still she pressured me to excel until she got on my nerves. For the longest time I felt I had to be perfect in order to please her. It's difficult when a person you admire and respect doesn't seem pleased with your efforts. It was only later that I realized she was just trying to get me to perform at my absolute best so I wouldn't cheat myself. She wasn't trying to get me to please her, she was trying to help me the only way she knew how. I think that's what Jun-Jun and Palla-Palla are doing. They're not disapproving of you living your life your own way. They're disapproving of you cheating yourself out of bettering yourself."

Ami studied the teen's face as she spoke. Ves-Ves was beginning to soften from anger to chagrin.

"They do it because they love you, Ves-Ves," Ami continued. "They won't think less of you if you try and fail. They only think less of you if you don't try."

Ves-Ves sighed in frustration. "Man, life sucks sometimes."

"Only if you dwell on the negatives," Ami told her. "If I give you a make-up test in a week, will you promise to study for it?"

Ves-Ves scowled.

"OK," she whispered.

"Good. I've downloaded a tutoring program to your workstation that can help you if you decide you need it," Ami said. Then she smiled. "Or I'm sure the other girls would be willing to help you study if you prefer the human touch. It's your choice. I think we're done for today."

Ves-Ves nodded and left - - silently. Ami studied the girl's body language as she left, hoping for some insight into her mind's workings.

* * *

Snuggled within the soft wedge of the bough, Sailor Moon slept and dreamed. She was visiting with Helios, because he had sensed within her the turmoil brought about by the incident with Shoko and came to her in her dream. The couple strolled hand in hand through a rolling forest beside a crystal blue lake. Animals watered from the lake, glancing up casually at the passing couple, unafraid.

Ignoring the tingle that grasping his hand gave her, Usa fought to articulate what had happened in response to his query. She worried how he would react. Would he become jealous? Would he look down on her? Her explanation became more and more quantified, thus more and more rambling, until the teen wished that she would just explode into bits to save herself from the humiliation.

"You are - - attracted to this youth?" Helios asked inscrutably.

"NO!" Usa howled. "Well - - yes, I guess. But not in the way I am to you! Helios, I love you! I do, please believe me!"

His hand tightened around hers.

"Of course I believe you, Maiden," he smiled. "I have pledged my love for you and can do nothing else and still be true to that pledge." He glanced over at her, almost shyly. "But more importantly, I have looked into your soul and seen with my own eyes the love that resides there. Did you not brave the sorceress Ctesias to rescue me? Am I to forget that and believe a momentary distraction caused by a beautiful form? To do that would make me unworthy of loving you."

Usa felt so relieved and happy at that moment that she wanted to cry.

Suddenly he turned, grasping her upper arm. He shook her and Usa couldn't understand why. And suddenly it wasn't him shaking her, it was her mother, and she was no longer in Elysian but in a tree on Kinotai.

"Hmm?" Sailor Moon queried, struggling to orient her senses.

"Usa, wake up," prodded Queen Serenity. "Something's happened."

"What?" the girl asked groggily.

"Don't you feel it?"

Sailor Moon paused and opened her mind to any sensation that might want to come to her.

"No. Should I?" the girl asked.

"Maybe I'm the only one who could have felt it," Serenity mused. She looked terribly worried, almost haunted. That concerned her daughter immensely.

"What happened?" Sailor Moon asked.

"Someone just died," Serenity told her. "Someone in the clan. It has to be. It ripped me right out of my sleep."

"That's no easy trick," Sailor Moon commented.

Serenity grasped her daughter's hand and levitated them both to the ground. Upon landing, Serenity turned to her left and swiftly moved in that direction. Sailor Moon ran to catch up, a difficult task because in her haste to arrive at the spot she was headed for, Serenity was levitating inches off the ground without realizing it. As she ran, Sailor Moon materialized the Crescent Moon Wand. She wanted to be ready for anything and, knowing her mother, one of them should be prepared for danger.

Sailor Moon reached a spot near the edge of this particular forest. An on-rushing river bordered it and hovering over the river was Serenity, hand to her mouth in shock. The queen gestured and Sailor Moon saw a body being pulled up from the rushing water. The senshi ran to the spot on the bank where Serenity lowered the body. When she got close enough to see who it was, the girl realized why her mother was in shock.

"It's Shoko!" Sailor Moon gasped.

Continued in Chapter 5


	5. The Demands Of Faith

THE PERSON I LOOK UP TO

Chapter 5: "The Demands Of Faith"  
A Neo-Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

On the banks of a rushing river, illuminated by pair of silvery moons in the nighttime sky, Queen Serenity and Sailor Moon bent over the body of Shoko, a youth of Shinrin's clan.

"Maybe we can resuscitate him!" Sailor Moon gasped, bending in closer.

Though the lessons her Aunt Ami had taught her on first aid were clear in her mind, this was the first time she was in a position to try it and Sailor Moon was naturally nervous. But a gentle hand held her back. She looked over to her mother and watched the queen silently shake her head. The woman's face was the picture of sorrow.

"Maybe the wand can?" she began to ask, bringing up the Crescent Moon Wand.

"It's too late," Serenity whispered. The sound of her voice told her daughter how difficult the words were for her.

Sailor Moon's spirits fell. Though his attentions had made her uncomfortable, the princess had no desire to see such passion and energy snuffed out. A wave of numbness flooded over her body and the senshi fought to regain control. She glanced over to her mother and found the woman weeping softly. It recalled a saying she heard several times among the people of Crystal Tokyo: "The Queen has tears for every death."

"What do you suppose happened?" Sailor Moon asked softly. Reflexively she looked over the body, sickened on one level that this pale white shell once was so beautiful and so alive. "I don't see any wound."

"Maybe it was an accident," Serenity choked out.

"Maybe I drove him to it," Sailor Moon wondered aloud. A feeling of guilt swelled up in her throat until it felt like it would choke her.

"I doubt that," Serenity offered encouragingly. "Perhaps it was the Torgus Clan."

"Who?"

"Shinrin was talking about them. They're a neighboring clan with a rival philosophy. Shinrin said they attacked the clan." Serenity bowed her head. "I hope they didn't do this. The loss of a single life in the name of philosophy is one too many."

"Maybe we should check it out," suggested Sailor Moon.

"No, honey," Serenity said softly, but firmly. "This is Shinrin's world. We'll take the . . . Shoko back to the clan and let her decide what she wants to do. Remember, we're guests here."

"All right," Sailor Moon scowled.

Serenity held her hands out. Shoko's body began to rise into the air. Held aloft by the power of the Silver Crystal, the body hovered several feet off the ground. Serenity rose into the air as well until she was several feet above the ground. She turned to Sailor Moon and silently inquired.

"That's OK, I'll walk," the pink senshi replied. "Don't over-exert yourself. I'll keep up."

Nodding, Serenity turned and flew off toward the encampment of Shinrin's clan. Sailor Moon followed behind her. Before it was out of sight, though, the senshi gave the river one last look, hoping to see something she had overlooked.

When they reached the outer circle of the forest Shinrin and her clan occupied, they found Shinrin and Danro waiting for them. The surprise was evident in the faces of both Serenity and Sailor Moon.

"I sensed a powerful wave of distress," Shinrin explained to Serenity. "At first I was confused by what I was feeling. Is this a feature of my new ability?"

"Yes, Shinrin," Serenity said. "As you grow more in tune with your crystal and your new level of power, you'll find yourself more sensitive to the moods and feelings of those around you."

"Then please tell me, Serenity, what distresses you so?" Shinrin inquired.

Serenity looked down. "I have some bad news for you, Shinrin. I was awakened by the shock of-of terrible violence done to a living being. I felt that person's final horrific moment. When my daughter and I investigated, we found Shoko's body."

Serenity levitated the body to a point close to them all.

"Indeed," Shinrin said softly. She stared down at the body, her manner controlled - - almost too controlled to the young Sailor Moon.

"Shoko dead?" gasped Danro. "How? How did it happen?"

"We don't know," Serenity told them. "There was no one around that we could see or that I could sense, and there are no wounds. Perhaps it was an accident? I can take you to the spot we found him if you wish to investigate."

"Thank you," Danro said. "It must be determined whether Shoko was the victim of fate or of another's evil intent."

"Yes," added Shinrin. "I would hate for it to be another despicable act of the Torgus."

"Who cares about that?" Sailor Moon said suddenly. "What about Shoko? He's dead! Doesn't that mean anything?"

"Naturally," Shinrin said with serene patience. "I grieve for his loss to the clan as a whole and more importantly to his parents and friends. If I seem unfeeling to you, it is because I accept the eventuality of the winter that knows no spring for all who breathe life. A tree falls in the forest, felled by age or disease. Do the other trees stop growing? It is sad, yes, and the forest is weaker for it, but life goes on. It can do nothing else."

She turned to Serenity.

"Danro will take the form of Shoko to be prepared for the final rites," she stated. "And I am truly sorry that this has upset you so, Serenity. It was my wish that your stay on Kinotai be a happy one."

Danro took the body in his arms and, together with Shinrin, walked off. The two women from Earth watched them go.

"She was real broken up about it," Sailor Moon muttered.

"Usa, don't judge," Serenity cautioned. "This is a different planet with different beliefs. You shouldn't apply the standards of your own culture to another culture."

The girl scowled. Serenity could tell that something was percolating in her daughter's brain.

"Well I'm going to find out what happened," Sailor Moon declared, heading back for the river.

"Usa!" Serenity sighed. "Let them handle their own affairs."

"Mom!" Sailor Moon retorted, "Sailor Moon stands for love AND justice. That's what you always told everyone else! Shoko wasn't a bad guy. He didn't deserve this. And if someone did this to him, I'm going to get justice for him! It's what being Sailor Moon demands!" With that, the senshi turned and plunged back into the brush.

Serenity stared after her, a small smile curling her mouth.

"She remembered," Serenity thought happily. "After all these years, she still remembers."

And Serenity headed out to follow her daughter.

* * *

Palla-Palla sat in class alone. Today's teacher, Makoto, had asked her to stay once class was over. A last minute consultation with Minako on some business had the woman standing out in the corridor while the fifteen year old girl with the five year old mind sat at her computer station and wondered what she had done wrong. The moments seemed to inch along, causing the girl's fears to rise. She wished she had Ves-Ves there to tell her everything would be all right.

But Ves-Ves was still mad at her - - so she didn't have anybody.

"I'm sorry about that, Palla-Palla," Makoto said. She walked over and sat down next to the blue-haired girl, working her large frame into a seat clearly not built for an adult. Instantly detecting the girl's apprehension, she gently brushed the girl's hair with her hand. "Relax, hon,  
you're not in trouble. I just thought you seemed kind of down. Did something happen? Something with Ves-Ves?"

Palla-Palla looked up at her with shock. Makoto smiled gently.

"It's not hard to tell. You two are usually so close. Want to talk about it?"

The girl looked down. "Ves-Ves is mad at Palla-Palla."

"Why?"

"Palla-Palla got very cross with her," Palla-Palla related contritely.

"About the test?"

Palla-Palla nodded.

"You know she's going to take a make-up, don't you?"

Palla-Palla nodded again. "But she's still mad."

Makoto grimaced helplessly.

"Palla-Palla doesn't understand, Miss Makoto ma'am. Why didn't Ves-Ves want to try? Why doesn't she want to be smart?" The girl began nervously playing with her fingers. "Palla-Palla knows she's as smart as she's ever going to be. If she could learn things, she'd learn everything there was to learn in the whole world and she'd be the smartest person ever. Ves-Ves isn't like Palla-Palla. Ves-Ves can learn. But she doesn't want to. Why doesn't she want to?"

"Well," Makoto began, feeling her way along the problem the way she had her entire life, "I guess Ves-Ves doesn't think it's as important as you do. You have to remember what she came from, I guess. She spent a lot of her life in a situation where being strong was more important than being smart. You know how good she is in the defense classes. If she thought learning geometry was as important as perfecting her roundhouse kick, she'd pass that, too. That make any sense?"

"But things aren't like when she was with her Mommy and Daddy," Palla-Palla squeaked.

"Well, old habits are hard to break," Makoto said. "And folks have to make their own decisions. You can try to show her the right way, but you can't force her to walk that path. Only she can do that. Doesn't that sound right?"

"But Ves-Ves is supposed to be strong. Why would she just give up?"

"Is this about her or about you?" Makoto asked.

Palla-Palla's eyes sought the floor again.

"You think she let you down? I know how much you look up to her."

"It's like she's afraid - - afraid of doing badly. But Ves-Ves isn't supposed to be afraid of anything."

"Honey, everyone's afraid of something. Even Ves-Ves, because she's human just like the rest of us. That's the problem with heroes: sometimes they let us down, but only because they're human and we expect too much of them. Ves-Ves isn't any different. You think she isn't afraid of anything? Well, I think she's afraid of looking weak, and if she took the test and failed, she was afraid she'd look weak."

Palla-Palla silently considered this.

"And I think she's also afraid of family turning on her," Makoto continued, "because her family did turn on her once. That probably hurts her a lot. Thing is, she can't just start crying when someone hurts her, because that would be looking weak in her mind. So she gets angry back and hurts the person who hurt her."

"Palla-Palla didn't want to hurt Ves-Ves! She just wanted Ves-Ves to try!" Palla-Palla wailed, her eyes bubbling with tears.

"We can hurt someone without meaning to," Makoto said. "Ves-Ves hurt you by giving up on herself. You hurt Ves-Ves by trying to make her who you thought she should be instead of accepting her for who she was. Neither one of you meant to do it, but it happened. And the longer you let it go without resolving it, the worse it'll get."

Makoto leaned in closer.

"You're sorry it happened, aren't you?" she asked. Palla-Palla nodded. "Then tell her."

"Will that make everything better?"

"That depends on Ves-Ves. It might not. She's kind of stubborn. But you two aren't going to make up until one of you says it, and since she's a stubborn old mule, maybe it has to be you." Makoto leaned back. "But that's up to you. You can go now."

"Yes, Miss Makoto-Ma'am," Palla-Palla mumbled. The girl was deep in thought.

"And I keep telling you it's just Makoto," Makoto grinned.

"Yes, Miss Makoto-Ma'am," Palla-Palla said absently. She walked out of the classroom without really noticing. Makoto stared after her, hoping she'd been able to reach the girl.

* * *

Serenity caught up with her daughter at the bank of the river. The girl was standing at the bank, searching around for something. She looked deep in thought. It took a moment for Serenity to figure out what she was searching for. A bemused smile curled her lips in spite of herself.

"Forgot about how you were going to cross the river?" Serenity asked, gliding up behind Sailor Moon.

"NO!" Sailor Moon snapped petulantly. "I just - - haven't figured it out yet. Man, you'd think these people were at least advanced enough to be able to build bridges!"

"It's probably downstream," Serenity commented. "Would you like a lift?"

"You're going to anyway. Go ahead," Sailor Moon huffed.

"Honestly, I thought I taught you better manners than that," sighed Serenity as she levitated them both over the river to the other side.

"Can you sense where this Torgus Clan is?"

Serenity closed her eyes for a moment.

"There's a settlement in that direction," Serenity replied, gesturing west. "I don't know if it's the Torgus Clan or not. If it isn't, then we can just ask for directions."

Each one waited for the other one to move.

"Go ahead," nodded Serenity. "You're leading this investigation." Sailor Moon rolled her eyes and started forward.

"Sure you can keep up?" she asked.

"If it gets too tiring, I'll just levitate," Serenity replied. Then she grimaced. "Although if I'd known I was going to be doing any hiking, I would have brought a different pair of shoes."

"What about food? You haven't eaten in a whole two hours."

Serenity nudged Sailor Moon's arm. The senshi looked back and Serenity showed her a bag of Simpa berries.

"I should have known," Sailor Moon replied, shaking her head. But she couldn't quite suppress the grin. "Any idea what these Torgus are like?"

"Shinrin doesn't have a very high opinion of them," Serenity related. "She says they have fallen from belief in the way of the forest and resorted to evil and unholy acts. She says they're at war with the Torgus - - one attack cost the lives of her two senshi."

"Are they some sort of revolutionary group? Don't they want Shinrin as their queen?"

"I don't think Shinrin's queen of the entire planet. It's like back home. I only rule Crystal Tokyo, not the entire world. I try to show the world a better way through peace and love and there are some who still choose to reject that. It seems to be the same way here. And Shinrin's just starting out, too. When I first ascended back in the twenty-first century, I wasn't queen of anything. If you ask Rei, I wasn't even leader of the senshi. And not everybody wanted to be lead by me, then or now. Shinrin will no doubt face the same problem."

"But if you and Shinrin have a better way, wouldn't it make sense to follow you?" Sailor Moon asked.

"People don't always do what's best for them, honey," the queen replied. "All I can do is offer them a better path and try to protect them if they choose a more dangerous one."

Sailor Moon brooded on that. "Being queen's a lot harder than I thought. Couldn't you just make them live the right way?"

"I try to make you do things the right way and look what it gets me," smirked Serenity. "You can't force people to do the right thing. They have to want to do the right thing. Otherwise you're monitoring them constantly and nobody accomplishes anything, or you become an autocrat and a despot. Power only gives you more responsibility, not more justification. The minute you think otherwise is when you start heading for a fall."

Sailor Moon looked quizzically at her mother.

"I did learn a few things in the last thousand years," Serenity replied defensively.

"I'm just wondering where you learned a word like 'autocrat'," Sailor Moon commented.

They walked on a few paces.

"OK, Ami taught it to me," huffed the queen. Sailor Moon suppressed a giggle.

The pair walked on for a while. Dawn was beginning to color the horizon.

"What do you think of Shinrin?" Sailor Moon asked.

"I think she's a very nice person," Serenity answered. "Why, are you still brooding about her reaction to Shoko's death?"

"Didn't it seem cold and unfeeling to you? It was like she didn't care."

"It did surprise me. But as I said, people react differently to tragedy. It might just be her way to bottle her emotions up. Or it might be as she said, that she accepts the inevitability of death. Just because I differ with her doesn't make her wrong."

"I guess," Sailor Moon murmured. Seeing the world in shades of gray when you were used to dealing with it in black and white terms was difficult to accept.

The sound of civilization caught their ears. Sailor Moon reflexively put her hand to her mother's shoulder, holding her back while she as the queen's guardian took the lead. Serenity suppressed the pang of fear she felt over her baby being at risk and allowed Sailor Moon to do her job as her senshi escort. The pair eased through the thicket of trees. Up ahead was a clearing and the noises were coming from that clearing. Silently the pair eased up to the edge of the clearing and peered out.

It was as unlike Shinrin's territory as could possibly be. Trees had been cleared away and built into shelters. On the near side of the clearing were tanning and metallurgy posts, two things that were almost unheard of in the place they'd come from. On the far side of the clearing were plots that were clearly being farmed. Though the hour was early, people were up and milling about, working various community-related jobs dressed not in skins but in woven fabric. It seemed not at all like a den of reactionary resistance. It seemed like a village out of tenth century Japan or Europe.

It wasn't what either woman expected at all.

Continued in Chapter 6


	6. How Many Sides To A Truth

THE PERSON I LOOK UP TO

Chapter 6: "How Many Sides To A Truth"  
A Neo-Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

The sound of civilization caught their ears. Sailor Moon reflexively put her hand to her mother's shoulder, holding her back while she as the queen's guardian took the lead. Serenity suppressed the pang of fear she felt over her baby being at risk and allowed Sailor Moon to do her job as her senshi escort. The pair eased through the thicket of trees. Up ahead was a clearing and the noises were coming from that clearing. Silently the pair eased up to the edge of the clearing and peered out.

It was as unlike Shinrin's territory as could possibly be. Trees had been cleared away and built into shelters. On the near side of the clearing were tanning and metallurgy posts, two things that were almost unheard of in the place they'd come from. On the far side of the clearing were plots that were clearly being farmed. Though the hour was early, people were up and milling about, working various community-related jobs dressed not in skins but in woven fabric. It seemed not at all like a den of reactionary resistance. It seemed like a village out of tenth century Japan or Europe.

It wasn't what either woman expected at all.

"They're so different," Sailor Moon gasped softly. "What could have happened?"

"Perhaps it's the difference in philosophy," Serenity suggested.

"So how do we find out if they attacked Shoko?"

"How about asking them."

The words momentarily stunned Sailor Moon. Who would have the utter blind trust to walk up to a perfect stranger and expect a truthful answer to such a question? Who could be so confident in the innate goodness of others that she would expect a possible murderer to confess out of simple honesty?

Her mother, of course.

"Mom!" hissed Sailor Moon.

She lunged for the Queen as Serenity strode out from concealment, but missed grabbing onto the folds of the woman's skirt. By then several of the villagers noticed her. Anxious and suspicious murmurs began to rise up and the village folk clustered together for mutual protection. Queen Serenity continued on, oblivious to the wary manner of the people she was approaching. Like always, she assumed the best about everyone. Muttering to herself, Sailor Moon shed her own concealment and scurried to flank her mother. After all, it was her job to protect the Queen, no matter how many stupid, reckless chances she took.

"Why don't you just paint a great big target on your chest?" the pink-tressed senshi muttered.

"Usa, you have to give people the opportunity to prove themselves trustworthy," Serenity told her. "Otherwise, you end up a very lonely, paranoid person."

"Who are you?" one of the wary villagers demanded. Up close, Sailor Moon could see that they all possessed shaggy white or blonde hair and the same type of eyes and features as Shinrin's clan. "Why are you here?"

"I am Serenity of Earth," Serenity said in her most placid, gentlest voice. "This is my daughter, Sailor Moon."

"A sailor senshi!" was the alarmed gasp from someone in the crowd. Frightened murmurs rippled through the group.

"Please, I mean no harm," Serenity appealed to them. "A friend of mine was found dead by the great river. I was wondering if anyone here knew what happened to him?"

"You think one of us killed him?" the lead villager demanded.

"I don't even know if he was killed intentionally or by accident, so I would have no reason to assume he was murdered by one of your village," Serenity replied. "I am only seeking to learn."

"This 'friend' of yours," the lead villager asked. "Was he of this clan?"

"No, he was of the clan across the river," Serenity replied.

Again the crowd became quite agitated. Sailor Moon couldn't make out much of what was being whispered back and forth, but she did make out a few words, particularly "Hayashi". The hostility of the crowd was rising. The senshi materialized the Crescent Moon Wand and held it behind her, just to be safe.

"He is of Sailor Hayashi's clan?" the lead villager asked.

"Yes," Serenity answered.

"And you name him 'friend'?"

"I consider everyone my friend," Serenity told him, then smiled. "It's just that some don't realize it yet."

"And do you consider Sailor Hayashi your friend as well?"

"I do."

The man scowled. "Then you will find no friends among the Torgus. Now go."

"That's so cold. Won't you please reconsider?"

"Go!" he snarled and moved menacingly forward.

Sailor Moon instantly stepped between them, the Crescent Moon Wand up and ready to use. However, Serenity's hand closed on her shoulder and held her back.

"That will be all, Sailor Moon," she said, dejected. "Very well, I'll go peacefully. I'm sorry if I've given offense in any way. I pray one day that you'll realize that I'm not a threat to you. I truly do want and hope to be your friend."

Then, unconcerned about an attack on her, Serenity turned and headed away from the village. Sailor Moon backed up a few paces, keeping her eye on the villagers in case one decided to attack. When she was satisfied none were going to do so, she turned and joined her mother.

"Well they obviously don't like Shinrin," Sailor Moon observed.

"These poor people - - don't they realize how fruitless it is to fight over philosophy?" Serenity wondered.

"So," Sailor Moon posed, "do you think one of them killed Shoko?"

"The villager said none of them did it. I want to believe him."

"Based on facts," her daughter asked, "or on your notion that everyone can be trusted?"

"You have such a smart mouth," scowled Serenity. "I'd really like to know just where you got it!"

"From watching you and Aunt Rei argue," smirked Sailor Moon. "Seriously, do you believe him?"

"Well, I can't sense dishonesty like your Aunt Rei can," Serenity sighed. "But, yes, I believe him."

"Then how did Shoko die?"

Serenity sighed. "How am I supposed to know? I'm not all-knowing, in spite of my reputation. Let's go talk to Shinrin. Maybe she and Danro have found out something"

* * *

Hotaru sat at her personal computer station in her quarters, her legs curled beneath her at angles that couldn't possibly be comfortable and were. Mizuno-sensei had recommended an instructional program on biochemistry basics and, though it was a leap ahead of her current curriculum, Hotaru sought it out as eagerly as she would the new music crystal of her current favorite band, "Eve Of Destruction". Deciphering what the tutorials were trying to teach her was difficult for the girl, but not nearly as difficult as astrophysics, multi-tronic computer programming and dimensional phase geometry. After all, basic biochemistry hadn't changed that much in a thousand years.

And if her head began to hurt too much, she could always plug in "Eve Of Destruction's" latest song collection. She made a mental note to give Yutaka a great big kiss next time they were together for turning her on to them.

"Cere-Cere desires entry," announced the room's environmental control computer.

"Sure," smirked Hotaru, pausing the tutorial.

The door hissed open and Cere-Cere entered with eager anticipation - - and yet trying to look as calm as possible. She was clad in form-hugging pink slacks with white high-heeled ankle boots with magnetic clasps, and a sleeveless pink top that hugged her bosom and bared her midriff. Faux jewelry clattered on her wrists.

"You're doing better," Hotaru said, walking over to her friend and fellow senshi. "It's been a whole week since you were last here." Hotaru wore, as a favor to Usa, a white blouse and a simple navy skirt.

Cere-Cere just flashed Hotaru a guilty grin and colored slightly. Ever since Michiru's rescue from Ravenheim - - and ever since Cere-Cere found out that she was indeed THE Michiru Kaioh the famous artist, the girl had found every excuse possible to "drop by", hoping to spot a new piece from this god of the art world. One day she happened by and found Michiru actually in the midst of painting and stayed entranced by the developing work until Michiru shooed her away.

"Mama's not here," Hotaru told Cere-Cere. "She's in the pool."

"Oh," Cere-Cere replied, deflated. "How's her therapy coming?"

"She's walking a lot better," Hotaru said. "Now the problem is prying her out of the pool. Mizuno-sensei keeps telling her not to overdo it, but of course Mama knows better than anyone else and she doesn't listen."

"Yeah, grownups are like that," Cere-Cere sighed. "So, has she painted anything new?"

"What is it with you and art?"

"I don't know. I like it. A well done painting is just so beautiful. Even cyber-art can be powerful, although it'll never be better than paint on canvas." She glanced at Hotaru sheepishly. "Hey, if you think I'm over here a lot, you should see how much I bug the Queen!"

The two dissolved into giggles.

"If she doesn't have anything new, can I look at her old stuff again?" Cere-Cere asked. Hotaru led her into the room where Michiru kept some of her more personal paintings. In the room, a dozen pictures from over the centuries hung, while images of thousands more were stored on memory crystals and even a few aging paper books. Cere-Cere pushed up as close as she could to the nearest painting. It was a picture of churning sea waves buffeting a coastline. The painting, titled "The Surf In Silence", was the oldest work in the room and dated back to the late twentieth century. Cere-Cere studied the work like it was her first time seeing it.

"Every time I look at this painting, it says something different to me," Cere-Cere said. "Your step-mom is a great artist." She studied the painting some more. "You know, seeing this again only makes me wonder even more why Usa gave up drawing. Doesn't she realize she can actually create stuff like this?"

"I don't think she thinks about it that way," Hotaru shrugged. "She told me she just decided one day that it wasn't something she wanted to do anymore."

"Why?"

"Because the Queen is an artist." Cere-Cere gave Hotaru a puzzled look. "I asked her about it. She said she wanted to establish her own identity."

"She is so hung up on that," Cere-Cere scowled.

"Well you can't blame her sometimes. She thinks she's got a lot to live up to, and in a way she does. Imagine if your mom was Queen Serenity."

"I'd love for my mom to be Queen Serenity," Cere-Cere told her. "Yeah, I get that she wants to be known as Usa Chiba and not the Queen's daughter. But to be able to draw - - to create beauty and to affect people for generations to come?" Cere-Cere expelled a breath. "I can't draw a straight line without a computer to help me. I'd be so happy if I could draw. And she can draw, and she just throws it away. It just seems like such a waste."

"Well that's Usa," Hotaru sighed. "Sometimes she wants to be like the Queen so bad that she can taste it and other times she'll tell me that she feels like she's drowning in her mother's shadow. That's one of the reasons she took up singing."

"Well, she's a pretty good singer, too," Cere-Cere murmured. "But it still seems like a waste."

The door to the room hissed open and Haruka popped her head in.

"Oh, it's you," Haruka said upon seeing Cere-Cere. The woman seemed almost relieved. "Back for another visit, huh? Michiru's going to have to dig her brushes out just to keep you happy."

"I wouldn't mind," Cere-Cere beamed.

"Wait, were you checking up on me?" Hotaru demanded indignantly.

"Damn right I was," Haruka told her flat out. "And just you remember that the next time you're out with 'that boy'."

Hotaru rolled her eyes dramatically.

* * *

It was approaching midday and the stomachs of both travelers were beginning to protest. As Serenity levitated them both over the river, her stomach became vocal. Sailor Moon shot her an amused glanced while Serenity flushed slightly.

"Guess it is getting near lunchtime," Sailor Moon commented.

"And I ate my stash of Simpa berries for breakfast," Serenity moaned. Sailor Moon suddenly felt the mental support under her feet begin to wobble.

"Mind on your work, Mom!" the senshi gasped.

"I'm sorry!" the queen replied. "I just started thinking about the wonderful curry rice Mako-chan makes and I lost my concentration."

Sailor Moon found herself licking her lips reflexively. Makoto's curry rice was to die for.

"What do you suppose is for lunch back at the clan's settlement?" the princess wondered. "Probably berries again. I'm beginning to think that's all they eat."

"Well, they are good. And Shinrin tells me they're very nutritious, too. If you're tired of berries, though, I'll ask Danro if there are any fish in these waters."

To the surprise of both Queen Serenity and Sailor Moon, they were met at the edge of the forest by Queen Shinrin and Danro Ganjou.

"Looks like we were missed," Sailor Moon murmured.

"Serenity, how glad I am to see you safe, and your daughter as well," Shinrin smiled. Her eyes glowed with warmth. "When we returned from tending to Shoko and found you both gone, I grew quite concerned."

"I'm sorry for worrying you, Shinrin," Serenity replied gently. "We just had concerns that we wanted to find answers to."

"About Shoko's death, I assume. I appreciate your great concern for one of my clan. It reflects upon the generous heart you possess. But you are not from this world, Serenity, and you don't know the dangers that exist at night. There are still predators in the forests at night."

"I'll take your advice to heart, Shinrin," Serenity smiled.

"What troubled you so that you needed answers so immediately?" Danro asked.

"I wished to know if Shoko was killed by someone," Serenity replied honestly, "and if so, by whom. I remembered Shinrin speaking about the Torgus, so I sought them out to ask them."

"You should be cautious concerning the Torgus," Danro replied, his demeanor hardening. "They have shunned the way of the forest. They are capable of great deceit and violence." The deep scowl on his face hinted at much bitterness bubbling within the handsome Danro. "It would not surprise me in the least if they came upon poor Shoko and killed him simply for being one of Shinrin's clan. They are not to be trusted, Serenity."

"They say they didn't kill him," Serenity replied softly.

Danro was about to reply, but a calming hand on his forearm stopped him. He glanced at Shinrin and her soothing touch and manner muted his anger. She turned back to Serenity and Sailor Moon.

"And, unenlightened though they are, in this instance I believe them to be right," Shinrin told them. Danro looked at her curiously. "It is my belief, from examining Shoko's shell, that the youth died by unfortunate accident."

"He drowned by accident?" Sailor Moon inquired. "Couldn't he swim?"

"He could," Shinrin said. "From their earliest possible age our children are taught the skills needed to survive within the forest, for many are the hazards which lay in the comforting breast of the mother forest. Swimming is one such skill. Shoko was an excellent swimmer."

"Then how did he drown?" Sailor Moon persisted.

"The great river is very deep and strong currents run below its surface. Even the strongest have been known to be sucked under should they tempt fate. And perhaps poor Shoko struck his head and was stunned, preventing him from saving himself. It is most regrettable, but such things do occur."

Sailor Moon looked down, digesting this.

"Even with power such as ours, terrible things like that happen," Serenity said, touching Shinrin in a conciliatory manner. "I wish it weren't true."

"Which is why I must press you to teach me more," Shinrin replied, "so that I may hope to prevent such things in the future."

Just then Serenity's stomach growled - - loudly.

"But I'm certain that it can wait until you've eaten," Shinrin giggled, her hand going to her mouth. "Please follow me, my friend. No doubt you're quite famished."

"No doubt," Serenity smiled sheepishly.

She and the two natives headed for the clan's clearing. At once, Shinrin stopped and looked back at Sailor Moon, who was still contemplating things.

"Do you not wish to eat, young Sailor Moon?" Shinrin asked.

"Hmm?" the pink-tressed senshi replied. "Oh - - yeah. Coming."

And Sailor Moon followed them to the clearing. But her mind was elsewhere, for something about this just wasn't right. If only she could figure out what.

Continued in Chapter 7


	7. Healing Time

THE PERSON I LOOK UP TO

Chapter 7: "Healing Time"  
A Neo-Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

Sailor Moon sat against a tree, watching the members of Shinrin's clan busy themselves with work or play. She observed that they were a very close people, almost like an extended family. That was good. They worked well in this forest and that was good, too. The entire place seemed idyllic, so pleasant and simple and quiet.

"And absolutely boring," Sailor Moon thought. "Man, I miss civilization! All these people do is work and play and sleep in trees! There's no music! There's no holo-vid! And the fashions are so totally Flintstones! Helios, if you can hear me, save me! I'm dying here!"

Just then she noticed a girl looking at her. The girl was about ten, with the same deep tan, shaggy white blonde hair and animal skin clothes as everybody else in the clan. She had a pleasant face with large amber eyes that seemed enthralled with her.

Much the way Shoko had been.

"Hi," Sailor Moon said, smiling sweetly. Instantly the girl was won over by the innate charm of the Princess and edged closer. The edges of her mouth curled up. "Who are you?"

"I am Lada," the girl replied. Though still a child, she had a voice sweet as sugar and as much innate charm as Usa. "You are the girl."

"'The' girl?" Sailor Moon asked.

"The one that Shoko spoke of."

Sailor Moon grew curious. "Did you know Shoko?"

"He was my brother," Lada replied sadly.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Sailor Moon said quickly.

"What is 'sorry'?" Lada asked.

"Well, I reminded you of something sad," Sailor Moon explained, "and I didn't mean to do that. It's my way of trying to make up for doing that."

"Sorry," Lada repeated, nodding as she understood. "My brother was quite taken with you. I can see why. How did your hair come to be that color?"

"Accident of birth," Sailor Moon shrugged.

"Shoko was very impressed with you. Why did you not like him back?"

Sailor Moon looked down. "Your brother was a nice boy - - but I like another boy."

Lada looked down, disappointed.

"How are you and your family getting along," Sailor Moon ventured cautiously, "now that Shoko is gone?"

"It's hard," Lada said, choking up. Instantly Sailor Moon gathered her in and hugged her. "My parents are so sad. The Queen says that we must be strong and continue on without him - - but it's hard." Lada paused, letting a wave of emotion pass. "My brother and I would fight. He was stronger than I was and would always take advantage. And we would argue always. But he would always be there if I needed a skill he had or a boost up into the trees during a Ceelot attack. I miss him. I-I have no one to argue with now." She looked up at Sailor Moon. "Why did he have to die?"

Sailor Moon looked helplessly at her. "I don't know. They say accidents happen, but it's not much comfort."

"It was no accident."

The girl was certain. Sailor Moon stared curiously.

"Shoko would not go willingly to the great river," Lada said. "Shoko was wary of the Torgus and gave them much respect and distance. He believed the words of Sailor Hayashi - - the queen - - when she said the Torgus were not to be trusted. And he knew the current of the great river and would not venture near it willingly."

"Someone dragged him there?" Sailor Moon asked.

"Or tricked him," Lada replied. "Or chased him. Why? Why would anyone want my brother dead?"

Suddenly a scream pierced the tranquility of the forest. It was an unearthly scream, animal-like and guttural, but a sound hinting of great pain and rage. Instantly Sailor Moon reacted to it, pushing to her feet at she turned toward the origin of the sound. Moments later a second scream, this one human.

A frightened youth of eight stood rooted to the ground, frozen in fear. Bearing down on him from out of the dense forest was an enraged animal. It was roughly four feet high with a shaggy white coat, cloven hooves and rolled horns. Save for the beast's estimated weight of close to six hundred pounds and the set of pointed razor-sharp teeth in its mouth, the creature resembled a huge goat. It bellowed again, sounding deathly sick and deadly dangerous.

"A Ceelot!" shrieked Lada. Quickly the girl scampered up the tree to safety, then turned back to Sailor Moon. "Climb! It's the only safe place!"

Instead, Sailor Moon ran forward, toward the tragedy in the making. The latest bellow had broken the spell of fear on the boy. He turned and ran from the beast, but he was too late. The Ceelot was just two paces from him and closing fast. Sailor Moon's hand went to her tiara. But before she could invoke the power phrase, another person whizzed past her.

It was Danro.

The Ceelot knocked the boy down and in one motion plunged its teeth into the flesh of his thigh. The boy howled in agony and Danro let fly with a leaf. But this was no ordinary leaf. In what seemed like deja vu to Sailor Moon, the leaf shot through the air like a projectile and buried itself stem first in the beast's shoulder. It released the boy and bellowed its pain and rage to the sky. Its hooves flailed out before it blindly. The beast seemed in the grip of a disorienting spell and, while still a menace, suddenly possessed less ferocity to its aura.

Danro launched himself at the Ceelot and tackled the weighty beast, sending them both rolling away from the downed youth. Before Sailor Moon had moved two paces, Danro was up, his muscular arms wrapped around the neck of the Ceelot. Teeth gritted, Danro planted his feet on the ground and twisted the beast's neck. The Ceelot roared out an inhuman protest, its hooves flailing in the air trying to find purchase and break free. Muscles bunched in Danro's bare back as he kept on the pressure. The beast bellowed one last time. Then something snapped within it and the beast sagged limp in Danro's grasp. Only then did he relax and let it fall from his hands.

Relieved that the immediate threat was over, Sailor Moon ran over to the fallen child. Blood was pouring from the wound in his thigh and the boy bellowed out his agony. Pushing down her own nausea at the sight of the wound, Sailor Moon pulled the decorative pink ribbon off her skirt. Using it as a tourniquet, she quickly wrapped the wound and tied it off, the pink ribbon stained red with the boy's blood.

"It's a bad wound," Danro said, peering over her shoulder as Sailor Moon worked. "The Ceelot normally do not attack so boldly. But when one is stung by the poisoned barbs of the Neketah flower, they are driven mad and will attack anything. Few survive a Ceelot attack."

"Well he's going to be one of them," Sailor Moon replied resolutely.

She paused for a moment, reaching out with her mind to summon her mother. The girl was confident that her mother's heightened perception would sense the summons. Then she produced the Crescent Moon Wand.

"Moon Healing Escalation!" she said, the wand circling over the boy.

Pink particles poured from the wand, covering the suffering boy with their radiant glow. As the particles coated him, the boy's suffering began to subside and he started to rest more comfortably. Sailor Moon kept pouring out her power, even as she kept the tourniquet pressure tight.

"Are you healing him?" Danro asked in amazement.

"No," Sailor Moon replied softly, trying to maintain her concentration. "I can't heal him physically. I don't have that kind of power. But I can ease his pain and keep him alive until Mom gets here."

"This is a great gift you possess," Danro remarked.

"Just comes with being Sailor Moon," the girl shrugged modestly.

Though it seemed like an eternity to young Sailor Moon, Serenity and Shinrin appeared moments later. Serenity recoiled in horror at the sight of the wound, while Shinrin pressed in closer to observe.

"A Ceelot?" she asked Danro. Her mate nodded solemnly. "Does his family know yet? They should be with him in his final time."

"He's not going to die!" snapped Sailor Moon.

"Your concern for him does you great honor," Shinrin told her. "But few survive a Ceelot attack, and none who have lost so much blood."

"Perhaps that was true before, Shinrin," Serenity said. Shinrin and Danro glanced up at her and found Serenity glowing silver. "But not now. Let me show you something that is now within your power to affect."

Serenity knelt down between Danro and Shinrin. Her hands reached out and hovered over the wound, while Sailor Moon pulled back to give her space. The glow continued to grow brighter until it was impossible to look at directly. After flaring, the silver glow dissipated. Serenity leaned back on her heels, expelled a sigh of fatigue and put her hand to her temple.

"Serenity, are you all right?" Shinrin asked.

"Yes," sighed the queen. "It's just a little draining."

Wordlessly, the pair and the on-lookers who had gathered looked down at the boy's wound. Sailor Moon pulled away the tourniquet. The bleeding was stopped. All that was left was a faint scar on the skin. Shinrin looked back at Serenity.

"Serenity," she whispered in awe.

"I can show you how to do it," Serenity smiled modestly.

And Sailor Moon looked on from a few feet away with silent pride.

* * *

Hotaru, Jun-Jun and Cere-Cere sat at a table in the Asteroids' quarters. Their personal education computer terminals were plugged in so each girl could share the tutorial. They were working on their history at the moment because Sensei Aino-sama was threatening them with a test on the twenty-fifth century at any moment. However, things weren't going as well as hoped.

"OK, who proposed the unification agreement between the thirty-five ethnic regions of North America?" Jun-Jun asked.

Hotaru's brow furrowed. She should know this.

"Prince Jackson," grumbled Cere-Cere, allowing her head to sag to the table from its perch on her right hand.

"Prince Jackson wasn't even alive in the twenty-fifth century!" Jun-Jun scolded her.

"So? Neither was I! So why should I have to know this stuff?" Cere-Cere scowled.

"Now you're sounding like Ves," Jun-Jun sneered.

"Wash your mouth out!" Cere-Cere huffed.

"Any good news on the Ves/Palla-Palla front?" Hotaru ventured.

"No, they're still not talking to each other," Jun-Jun sighed. "And it's really getting old."

"Well, what do you expect? Ves is so damn stubborn! She was in the wrong. She hurt Palla-Palla's feelings. She should apologize."

"They were both wrong."

"Ves was MORE wrong."

"Who's a moron?" growled Ves-Ves. She entered the room, crossed over to a large chair and flung herself into it. Cere-Cere was about to respond, but a look from Jun-Jun silenced her. Instead she merely huffed in frustration.

"Need some help studying for the make up exam?" Hotaru offered.

Ves-Ves looked like she was about to refuse. Then she stopped, seemingly torn.

"It's no trouble," Hotaru prodded.

"No, I can do it. You've got your own studying to do anyway," Ves-Ves shrugged.

"Oh, would you just stop being such a macho jerk and get over here!" Cere-Cere fumed. "Honestly, I think you'd shoot your own foot off just to prove how tough you were!"

"Are you this pleasant with Gallan?" Ves-Ves cracked - - as she wandered over to the table. "And if you are, why does he like you?"

"At least I HAVE a boyfriend," sniffed Cere-Cere.

Just then Palla-Palla entered the room. Everyone could feel the tension between her and Ves-Ves. They all wanted to say something to try to mollify the situation, but none of them had enough confidence that they wouldn't accidently say the wrong thing and make things worse. But to everyone's surprise, Palla-Palla walked right up to the table and faced Ves-Ves directly.

For her part, Ves-Ves looked down. Her mouth was hard and she seemed to be holding herself back, unwilling to say or even look at her sister lest she lose control and give her mighty rage a way out. Palla-Palla seemed to want to speak, but though she towered above the seated girl, her nerve was clearly faltering. Cere-Cere looked at her almost tearfully, while Jun-Jun struggled to think of some way to rectify the situation and failed. Finally Palla-Palla summoned all of her courage and forced the words from her.

"Ves-Ves," the young blue-haired girl squeaked. "Palla-Palla is sorry if she hurt you. She only wanted you to try your best - - so you could be smart - - because Palla-Palla can't. She didn't know she was hurting you. She's not too bright. But Miss Makoto-Ma'am explained it to her and she understands now. Palla-Palla's," and her voice caught with emotion, "Palla-Palla's very, very sorry."

Jun-Jun, Cere-Cere and Hotaru looked to Ves-Ves. The girl still looked down. Her cheeks were flushed and the girl was openly struggling with her emotions. And Palla-Palla patiently, innocently waited. Finally Jun-Jun nudged her sister under the table. Ves-Ves glanced at the girl angrily, but Jun-Jun only glared back. Returning her gaze to the floor, Ves-Ves seemed to soften - - ever so slightly.

"OK," Ves-Ves struggled to whisper. "Anyway, you didn't hurt me that bad. I've had worse." Her jaw clenched. "How about - - how about we just forget it ever happened - - OK?"

"OK," Palla-Palla repeated softly.

But there was still a gulf. Palla-Palla knew it, but she was helpless to know what to do to bridge it. Ves-Ves knew as well and in that moment of lucidity, she had to decide what was more important to her: her relationship with Palla-Palla or her pride.

"Um," Ves-Ves began, "S-Sensei Mizuno-sama, she's going to give me a make up test, you know?" Palla-Palla nodded timidly. Ves-Ves gave her the merest hint of a wary smile. "You want to help me study for it?"

A huge smile broke out across Palla-Palla's face. With eyes wide and watery, she nodded enthusiastically. Grinning - - almost gratefully, though Ves-Ves would deny it - - Ves-Ves patted the spot next to her and Palla-Palla scampered to occupy it.

* * *

Off by themselves in a small clearing, Serenity and Shinrin sat by the jagged stump of a rotted and felled tree. Shinrin's eyes were closed. The woman looked inward, communing with her Emerald Crystal, speaking once more with the power that coiled within it and sought to do her will, provided she had the strength of soul to amplify. Serenity looked on, ready to catch her should she misstep, watching over her as she communicated with the jewel within her.

"What do I do now, Serenity?" Shinrin asked. As brave and as confident as she always sounded, Shinrin now had the tiniest hairline crack of doubt plaguing her. It was a doubt Serenity knew only too well.

"What do you want to do, Shinrin?" Serenity asked.

"The tree," she whispered. "It was a hearty tree for many years, bearing sweet fruit and safety for us all and sowing many seeds. I communed often with its spirit essence and took comfort in its strong boughs. I-I wish it to live again, Serenity."

"You wish to restore a life that has passed?" Serenity said. "That is something that is beyond even us, unless you are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice. And that would make me very sad."

"Then," Shinrin continued, "may I recreate this great and noble tree? Sow one more seedling from it, even thought seeds no longer grow from it?"

"Do you want it badly enough?"

Shinrin nodded, her eyes still closed.

"Then picture it in your mind," Serenity instructed, "open your heart and let the energy of your crystal flow from you."

Shinrin did as she was instructed. An emerald glow formed around her and grew in intensity. From some distance away, members of the clan turned and looked at the glow their queen was emitting. It continued to grow until it became so bright and intense that casual observers had to turn and look away. The entire forest was bathed in an emerald light for moments - - then it died away.

Her eyes opened slowly. Shinrin looked down. Instantly her hands went to her mouth as her eyes widened in surprise. Before her in the ground, in the shadow of the old stump, was a seedling eight inches high.

"It," Shinrin gasped softly, "it's a miracle! Serenity, did I do that?"

"Yes you did," smiled Serenity. "And quite well."

"Oh! Oh, Serenity, my friend! To create life where there was none - - what wondrous power we have! Oh, bless the Mother Forest for giving it to me! And bless her for sending you to me, so I may learn to use it for her greater good! Oh, thank you for all you have done for me!"

"It feels good, doesn't it?" Serenity grinned. "Someday this seedling will be a strong tree helping to protect and nourish your clan, and it's all because of you. It's a wonderful feeling to do for people, to use your power to help others."

"It is," Shinrin nodded, giddy with the moment. "It makes me want to do more! Such power can be a blessing to my people - - not just of my clan, but of the world!"

Serenity got up, then extended a hand to Shinrin. After she gained her feet, Shinrin brushed off her fur dress.

"It's a worthy ideal to aspire to," Serenity began cautiously, "but you must be careful not to do too much. I've learned over the centuries that while the charity of assisting those in need is a noble thing, you must be careful not to do too much for them and rob them of their ability and desire to succeed on their own. Protect them; care for them; but don't make them dependant upon you - - for if something would happen to you, where would they be then?"

Shinrin nodded. "You are wise in that. Our people have always been taught to be strong. The Mother Forest only protects us to a point. From that point, we must live or die on our own strength. I will heed your advice."

"Good," Serenity smiled. "If only my daughter minded me as well as you do."

"She is young," Shinrin told her friend. "The young feel the need surging within them to prove their worth and demonstrate that they no longer need the protection of the parents. They are conflicted with the desire to stay and the need to leave. Understand this and you will understand her."

"And how many children have you had?" Serenity asked.

"None," Shinrin replied, flushing slightly. Her eyes seemed to instinctively seek out and find Danro, off in the distance. "Yet."

Serenity followed her friend's gaze and smiled knowingly.

"But that must wait," Shinrin proclaimed resolutely. "I have a duty - - a calling. The birth of this wondrous power within me is a gift from the Mother Forest, but it is not a gift without obligation. I must use this power to bring harmony and enlightenment to all who reside on Kinotai."

Those words and Shinrin's tone disturbed Serenity. "Shinrin," she began.

"And you have shown me how to accomplish this, my friend," Shinrin continued happily. "Feel pride."

And off she sprinted toward her love, Danro, leaving Serenity with an uneasy feeling.

Continued in Chapter 8


	8. Might Makes Right

THE PERSON I LOOK UP TO

Chapter 8: "Might Makes Right"  
A Neo-Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

It took a while to search the entire area, but it wasn't like Sailor Moon had anything else to do. Her mother was hard at work tutoring Shinrin and unless another one of those Ceelot things came storming through there was no need for a guard.

"Probably no need anyway, since she can do anything," Sailor Moon thought.

Finally her search proved fruitful. She found Lada playing with some other girls her age. As she approached, the girls quieted and looked her over. They weren't openly suspicious of her. They just had that familiar wariness girls in packs had when someone approached.

"Glad I found you, Lada," Sailor Moon said. "I've been looking for you."

"You are the Sailor Moon?" one of the girls asked. "The one who helped save Rakee?"

"Uh huh."

The other girls looked at Lada. They were clearly impressed.

"Can I ask you something, Lada?" Sailor Moon asked. "Um, it's about Shoko."

Instantly taking the hint, the other girls moved off. Lada seemed distressed at the mention of Shoko, but didn't shy away.

"Lada, I know this is way late and it's probably going to sound weird," the pink senshi began, "but is there any way I can get a look at Shoko's body?"

"It's by the stream," Lada whispered. "My father and Danro Ganjou are preparing it for its return to the soil. I don't know if they will allow it."

"Can we try?" asked Sailor Moon.

"Why do you wish to see him? Did you love him that much?"

"Um" Sailor Moon grimaced, "it's not anything like that. I just - - I wanted to see if he'd been in a fight with anyone. You said his death wasn't an accident. I thought I could find a clue of some kind."

Reluctantly, Lada led Sailor Moon to the spot. It was upstream from the settlement, in a thicket of trees. Sailor Moon could see Danro and another man bending over something. She also noticed other mounds in the ground nearby, dotting the tree-laden terrain. This was some sort of burial area. Just then, she realized Lada shying from the area.

"Lada?" she asked.

"I-I do not want to go any further, Sailor Moon," the young girl grimaced. "I do not wish to see my brother this way." The girl seemed on the verge of tears.

"I understand," Sailor Moon said softly, stroking the girl's shoulder. "Thank you for taking me this far. I'll go the rest on my own."

As Lada quickly moved off, Sailor Moon walked up to the two men. Upon hearing her approach, the pair looked up at her. While there was a racial similarity to them, Danro was far more handsome and muscular. Sailor Moon recalled his subduing the Ceelot unconsciously.

"Konju," Danro said, "this is the queen's guest, Sailor Moon."

"You're one of the ones who found my son," Konju said, subduing his anguish just enough to speak. "I am in your debt for that."

"You don't have to be," Sailor Moon replied, nervously brushing at her pink hair with her hand. "I, um, wanted to look over Shoko's body - - if that's all right. I was hoping to see something that might tell me who killed him or why he was killed."

"Look as long as you will," Konju sighed heavily. "Shoko's spirit has returned to the Mother Forest - - and his flesh no longer feels, so it cannot be embarrassed or put upon."

Reluctantly, because the rigid, pale white corpse that had once been Shoko made her skin crawl, Sailor Moon looked the body over.

"It is my opinion that Shoko drowned," Danro told her as the senshi examined the body. "Would that Shintoru were here. She would know better than I."

"Who's Shintoru?" Sailor Moon asked.

"Our departed Sailor Eichi. Shintoru was the clan's healer. She was a brilliant mind. I have tried to fill the gap she left, but I am neither the healer nor the mind she was."

"What happened to her?" Sailor Moon asked as she looked over the corpse before her.

"She left us in the last attack," Danro related sadly. "The same attack in which Sailor Kokoro was killed. The attack in which I would have died had it not been for my Shinrin."

"Was that what caused her to ascend?"

Danro smiled warmly. "I lay dying, a spear in my abdomen. I felt so cold. Then I felt arms around me and a warm lap cradle me. I looked up and found Sailor Hayashi cradling me. The fear in her eyes as she looked down at me - - I have never seen such fear in her. Never. The tears poured down her face and she begged me not to go. I wanted to reach up to her, wipe away her tears and thank her for gracing me with her love. I tried to speak it, but I was too weak."

Sailor Moon had stopped examining the body. She and Konju stared enraptured by the reminisces of Danro.

"Then Sailor Hayashi began to glow a deep emerald," Danro continued. "At first I thought I was delirious from my wounds. Then," and he paused, momentarily overcome by the memory, "then I no longer felt cold. I felt her - - felt her soul touch me and caress my wound. And when her soul touched me, it sparked a power within me as well, a power beyond what I had as Kamen Irori. I-I began to heal from our combined power." He glanced over at them. "And my Sailor Hayashi became Queen Shinrin on that day."

"And the Torgus?" Sailor Moon asked.

"The battle ended. Shinrin had lost Eichi and Kokoro, and nearly lost me. She had no taste for battle for a while." Danro looked back at the corpse of Shoko. "But trouble is starting anew. And it won't end until the Torgus are brought back to the light."

"Yeah," the girl said, turning back to Shoko's body. She glanced over it and focused on an odd bruising pattern. "There are marks on him," Sailor Moon pointed. "These deep bruises around his middle. What do you think caused them?"

"Perhaps Shoko's empty shell struck a rock in the swift current of the river," Danro suggested.

"All around his middle? And the bruises aren't random - - and the skin isn't broken. It's too big and wide for just hitting a rock. It seems like a giant hand grabbed him around the waist."

"But there are no such things. It couldn't have happened that way," Konju gasped.

Sailor Moon frowned. "Oh yes it could."

"Then - - my son was killed by another?"

But Sailor Moon had already walked off, intent on her mission.

Searching the forest, Sailor Moon found her mother and Queen Shinrin in a glade. The two were levitated four feet off of the ground. Shinrin's legs were crossed. Serenity's was close, because she'd never managed to master the lotus position. She said it was because she had tight joints.

Luna said it was because she had fat hips from eating too much candy.

"Open your mind to everything around you, Shinrin," Serenity said. Both women had their eyes closed and were concentrating within on their power centers. "Don't reach out. Instead, let the world flow into you."

"Yes, Serenity," Shinrin mumbled.

"What do you feel?"

"So many emotions are swirling around me."

"That's the immediate area," Serenity told her. "You're feeling everything that your clan is feeling. You are one with your people."

"The happiness of the children," Shinrin whispered, smiling ever so faintly. "The love of a woman for her mate. The love of a child for his father. I feel - I feel anger - joy - ambition - wonder - frustration - security."

Suddenly Shinrin's head came up. She turned slightly and looked directly at Sailor Moon.

"Suspicion," Shinrin said. Sailor Moon suddenly became very uncomfortable.

Serenity looked up. "Sailor Moon, did you want something?"

"Yeah, Mom," the senshi said, trying to ignore Shinrin's stare. "Can I talk to you about something?"

"Will you excuse me, Shinrin?" Serenity asked and glided over to her daughter. "Yes, Usa, what was it?"

Sailor Moon glanced over at Shinrin again.

"Mom, I'm even more sure now that Shoko was murdered," Sailor Moon related.

Serenity looked down. "The Torgus say they didn't kill him. I want to believe them!"

"I believe them, too," the pink senshi declared. "There were bruises around Shoko's middle like he was grabbed by a giant hand."

"A giant hand? Is it possible that some sort of animal exists on this world that would have a giant hand?"

"Who says it had to be a real one, Mom? You can create platforms and bridges and stuff by using the crystal to make the air molecules solid, can't you?"

"Well, yes."

"And if you were trying to grab someone like Shoko, you could maybe make an invisible hand the same way, couldn't you?"

"Yes. You don't think I grasped him too hard when I pulled him out of the river, do you?"

"No. But suppose someone grabbed him and drowned him in the river."

Serenity looked at her daughter blankly.

"Someone who has powers just like yours," Sailor Moon said through clenched teeth.

Serenity was about to gasp in shock, but Sailor Moon stilled her with a hand on her arm. Sensing a presence, Serenity turned and found Shinrin behind her.

"Is there a problem, Serenity?" Shinrin asked.

"Um, no," began Sailor Moon.

"Sailor Moon tells me that there was bruising around Shoko's middle," Serenity told her. "She thinks it points to - - to Shoko being murdered."

"I will trust your judgment in this," Shinrin replied calmly. "I saw nothing, but I am not wise in these matters."

"I don't think there's any doubt that Shoko was deliberately killed," Sailor Moon said, almost as a challenge.

"Then justice must be done," Shinrin replied, to Sailor Moon's surprise. Shinrin bowed her head. "You told me that the obligation of those with power such as ours is to protect the innocent and give them justice, did you not Serenity?"

"Yes, I did, Shinrin," Serenity said warily. "The powerful are obligated to secure justice for those less fortunate, to provide for their protection when they can't and secure for them the opportunity for a long and happy life. I believe it's why we were given this power."

"Then I will make you proud, Serenity. Thank you for all you have taught me. I go to bring justice for the family of Shoko and for all others who have suffered." And Shinrin headed proudly for the center clearing of the clan's woods, while Serenity and Sailor Moon exchanged perplexed looks.

"Doesn't she even realize what she's done?" Sailor Moon asked. "SHE'S the one who killed Shoko! She has to be! Nothing else fits!"

"Oh, dear," fretted Serenity. "I don't think she understands."

Serenity hurried off after Shinrin, with Sailor Moon running behind. As they ran, they heard a large horn echo through the woods. Moments later they found Shinrin standing in the center of the small clearing, flanked by Danro and surrounded by the entire clan. They stopped just outside the gathering as Shinrin solemnly stood before her people.

"I have grave news, my people," Shinrin announced. "You all know of the death of our own Shoko. To compound the tragedy, I am now told he was killed, not by accident or by forest predator, but by the hands of another. It is sad and shocking, but I believe it to be true."

"Is she confessing?" Serenity whispered.

"Maybe she's a split personality," Sailor Moon whispered back. "Now I wish you HAD brought Aunt Ami."

"This cannot go unanswered," Shinrin continued. "Such things are an abomination in the eyes of the Mother Forest and all she provides to us. The Mother Forest has seen fit to grant me power in which to act and I can do no less. I protected you as Sailor Hayashi and I shall protect you as your Queen Shinrin. I go, my people, to the Torgus, to bring the holy word to them. They will see the light, I promise you - - or they will not menace us again."

"See the light how, Shinrin?" gasped Serenity, pushing through the crowd toward the queen. "What are you going to do?"

"You have taught me well, Serenity," Shinrin smiled. "My power is enough to exact justice upon the non-believers in the Torgus clan. Surely you were guided here by the great Mother Forest. I thank you."

"No! No, Shinrin, this is not what I taught you! Justice and vengeance are two different things! Don't dishonor yourself and your power this way! Don't dishonor the spirit of the forest!"

"Why do you protest?" Shinrin asked. "All you have taught me has been directed at helping. I am helping the Torgus by bringing them away from their evil ways and back to the light of truth. In this way, they will no longer be a threat to themselves or to my people." She looked down. "Naturally there will be those who resist. I will try to bring them to the way, but if they will not turn, I must neutralize them to protect my people."

"Shinrin, don't do this, please!" Serenity pleaded. "Having the power isn't about killing and vengeance! It's about helping others and making a better life for everyone so they can live together in peace and harmony! You can't use your power to force someone else to believe as you do! What you're doing will only destroy that dream!"

"You said yourself that my mission is to protect others," Shinrin countered. "I am protecting the way of the forest, which has been spurned by the Torgus. I am protecting my clan, so they are not killed as Shoko was killed."

"The Torgus didn't kill him! You did!" roared Sailor Moon. A horrified gasp rose up from the crowd. "Why? Why did you do it?"

Shinrin looked at Sailor Moon, stunned.

"You side with them?" she asked incredulously.

"We're not siding with anyone!" Serenity cried. "Shinrin, it was an accident! It had to be! Tell them!"

"Even you, Serenity? I thought you were my friend."

"I am. I understand what you're going through, believe me. Shinrin, the power can be scary and intimidating. You can very easily lose control, especially in the beginning," Serenity said. "It can also be seductive. You can do so much. You can accomplish everything you want just by wishing it. It becomes easier and easier to think you know best for everyone . . ."

"The Mother Forest would not grant me such power if she didn't mean for me to use it to spread her word and bring everyone to her ways," Shinrin said.

"NO! Shinrin, you mustn't think that your power gives you the right to force everyone to believe as you do! It's wrong! It's a trap! You can lose your soul in it!"

Shinrin grimaced. "It grieves me, Serenity, that you could betray me like this." Her features hardened. "I go to bring the wayward Torgus back to the one truth. Nothing you can say will stop me."

Serenity expelled a resigned sigh. "Then I'll have to stop you another way."

And from out of nowhere came a brilliant streak of green. It barely registered in Sailor Moon's vision, but was quickly forgotten when Serenity recoiled and crumpled to the ground.

"MOM!" Sailor Moon gasped. She knelt down, cradling Serenity in her arms. To her and her mother's mutual horror, a leaf was embedded stem-first in her chest. Sailor Moon's eyes bulged. She looked over at Shinrin and Danro, and saw Danro's arm extended, his eyes cold and merciless. "Mom, are you hurt? Say something!"

"Not hurt," Serenity replied, woozy and disoriented. "Can't focus."

"Do not oppose me, Serenity," Shinrin told her, her voice echoing through the forest. "I grant mercy in exchange for the kindness you previously extended to me. But the Torgus will come to the light of righteousness or they will fall. The Mother Forest has ordained it and I am her vessel of choice."

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER!" bellowed Sailor Moon. "Wasn't Shoko enough for you? How many people do you intend to murder?"

The crowd looked on uneasily. Some were confused, while others looked at Sailor Moon and Queen Serenity with growing hostility. Sailor Moon saw none of it. Her vision and her anger were focused solely on Shinrin.

Shinrin's featured hardened. In response, she cupped her hands above and inches away from her chest. Space began to warp around her where her hands were cupped, then glow a brilliant emerald green. Sailor Moon saw an emerald crystal emerge from the warp and hover between her hands. From experience she knew what this meant.

Shinrin was bringing her crystal's power directly into play.

Continued in Chapter 9


	9. The Ghost Who Walks

THE PERSON I LOOK UP TO

Chapter 9: "The Ghost Who Walks"  
A Neo-Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

Shinrin's featured hardened. In response, she cupped her hands above and inches away from her chest. Space began to warp around her where her hands were cupped, then glow a brilliant emerald green. Sailor Moon saw an emerald crystal emerge from the warp and hover between her hands. From experience she knew what this meant.

Shinrin was bringing her crystal's power directly into play.

"Usa," Serenity whispered, Danro Ganjou's enchanted leaf sticking out of her chest. "Get away."

"I'm not leaving you!" Sailor Moon snarled. She brought the Crescent Moon Wand into play.

"I would have allowed you to share in the glory of the Mother Forest," Shinrin said bitterly. "But instead you ridiculed her holy ways. I would have granted you mercy because of your past service, but you choose to seek to harm me. You are little better than the corrupt and evil Torgus and you deserve their fate."

Shinrin's crystal began to glow emerald.

"Moon Healing Escalation!" Sailor Moon replied.

Waves of pink energy fanned out as the gathered clan members fell back in shock and awe. Instantly Danro moved to defend his queen, but Shinrin stopped him. Instead she took Sailor Moon's attack head on, deflecting the energy away with her crystal.

"You have surprising power for one so young," Shinrin said with disheartening confidence. "But I am the chosen holy vessel of the Mother Forest and she grants me power that you could never hope to possess."

With that, Shinrin's crystal began to glow more brightly. Instantly Sailor Moon felt the energy pushing against her own. It was all she could do not to be overwhelmed by it. Halting its relentless march toward her and her mother was another thing entirely, something that was clearly beyond her. It was her fear spoken only to Hotaru come true. What if she messed up? What if she wasn't good enough?

"Let me help," she heard Serenity whisper, her voice slurred and unsteady. The queen wrapped a shaky hand around the handle of the Crescent Moon Wand just above her hands. Sailor Moon felt Serenity's power flow into the wand and out, strengthening the pink barrier with silver threads.

But she also heard the grunt of exertion from her mother and glanced nervously to her.

"You can't focus your great power, Serenity," Shinrin warned her. "That is the spell of Danro's leaf attack. Perhaps someone of your knowledge and power could have defeated me, but not now. I give you one last chance, in the name of the friendship we once had, to renounce your betrayal and come to the light."

"I," grunted Serenity, her power unfocused and her body clearly straining, "can't do that, Shinrin. You're too much of a danger."

"I spread the way of the Great Forest! How does that make me a danger?"

Serenity gritted her teeth. "You refuse to consider that you could be wrong," Serenity gasped out. "With power like ours, that alone makes you dangerous."

The emerald power relentlessly neared Serenity and Sailor Moon, despite the queen's efforts to hold it back. Sailor Moon glanced again at her mother. The leaf in the woman's chest was sapping her strength. She knew her mother was capable of much more power than this with none of the clear stress on her body.

"We can't hold her back, can we?" Sailor Moon whispered to her mother.

"I told you to run," Serenity replied, fearing the worst.

"Were you planning to betray me all along, Serenity?" scowled Shinrin. "Or were you swayed by the seductive evil of the Torgus. I almost hope it's the latter. That way I could forgive you after I destroy you."

Serenity didn't reply. She was too busy trying to find some way to summon her great power to protect her child. And then, like a clarion call of rescue, she heard it.

"Moon Tiara Action!" Sailor Moon called out.

Before anyone could react, Sailor Moon's tiara, converted into an energy disk, arced down and struck Shinrin's crystal square and true. The tiara exploded on impact with its target. Though the emerald crystal remained unharmed, the energy feedback sent Shinrin recoiling backwards. She tumbled to the ground, Danro instantly by her side.

"Pull in tight, honey," Serenity whispered desperately. She grasped at Sailor Moon and, for once, her daughter didn't argue. Hugging the girl to her breast, Serenity managed to envelope them both in teleport energy and faded from view. The stem of a leaf pierced the last remnants of the energy.

"Are you all right, Shinrin?" Danro asked.

"Yes," the woman nodded, getting to her feet. "I was just momentarily stunned. It will not keep me from my mission."

"I'll track them down," Danro told her. "They can't hide from me forever. They won't ever threaten you again, Shinrin."

Shinrin leaned in and tenderly kissed her mate.

"Please be careful, Danro," she said. "I couldn't bear to lose you. I would die without you."

He smiled and patted her cheek with his hand.

"I will return," he said gently. "I have vowed to never cause you pain. I will be true to my vow"

* * *

On Earth, Endymion was meeting with Crystal Tokyo's ministers of energy, commerce and transportation. They were in the process of reviewing the quarterly reports on their various governmental domains. From there, any problems would be pinpointed and strategy planned for the coming months to meet and solve those problems. It was a necessary chore that Endymion took on because Serenity had little desire and less patience with such things. He was the administrator. She was the people person.

Things had been going routinely when Endymion suddenly stopped in mid-question and stared off into space. The three ministers looked at him uncomfortably, unsure of what was happening.

"Um, King Endymion?" Minister of Energy Tamahoma ventured.

The king rose from his chair and hurried for the door.

"I'm sorry," Endymion tossed over his shoulder. "We're going to have to pick this up later!"

"But King Endymion!" protested Minister of Transportation Azuma.

"LATER!" Endymion snapped as the door barely hissed open in time to accommodate him.

"Um, yes sir," whispered Azuma.

Flying past surprised palace workers, King Endymion raced down the corridor at top speed. As he passed Classroom One, Rei dashed out of the room following him. Behind her, Hotaru and the Asteroids peered out of the classroom door, perplexed.

"I felt you coming down the hall!" Rei yelled, chasing after him. "What's wrong? Is it Serenity? Is it Usa?"

"It's Serenity!" Endymion replied.

"I'm coming with you!" Rei demanded, knowing without asking what Endymion's next move would be.

"I travel faster alone," was his response.

"Endymion!" Rei snarled, her legendary temper flaring through her fearful desperation.

"STAY HERE!" Endymion demanded, whirling on the raven-haired priest. "I'll bring them back safe. I always have."

Endymion turned and headed at top speed for the aero-pad, leaving Rei to burn with fear and frustration behind him. The woman glared helplessly at his rapidly disappearing form, then sensed presences behind her. She turned and found Hotaru and the Asteroids behind her.

"Is Usa in trouble?" Hotaru asked.

"Not yet, apparently," Rei said through thinned lips. "But if Serenity's in danger, then she's probably not far behind." The priest's eyes flared and she took a belligerent step toward them. "And I know what you five are thinking. DON'T!"

"But Hino-sama," Jun-Jun began to protest.

"The King is going to handle this. We have to obey," Rei told them. Then she glanced to the side angrily. "No matter how much we might not like it."

"But . . .!" Hotaru began desperately.

"I MEAN IT! If any one of you so much as set foot out of this palace," Rei fumed, "don't bother coming back!"

The four Asteroids looked to Hotaru. Of them all, only Hotaru possessed the power to challenge an inner senshi. Hotaru stared at Rei and for a moment looked like she was going to do it. Rei held her ground and more than one of them wondered if she could take an enraged Sailor Saturn. Then the moment passed. Hotaru's shoulder's slumped in defeat and her gaze lowered, concealing the bitter scowl on her tiny mouth.

"If it helps any," Rei whispered hoarsely, "you can sit and wait with me on the aero-pad."

"How long are you going to wait?" Hotaru asked softly.

"Until I know they're safe."

Hotaru silently nodded. The pair walked in solemn procession to the aero-pad. With nothing else to do, the Asteroids followed.

* * *

Queen Serenity and Sailor Moon materialized in a dense patch of forest. Exactly where wasn't immediately known. That wasn't important to either of them at the moment. Serenity was dizzy from the energy expenditure and the effects of Danro's leaf still stuck in her chest just above her heart. Sailor Moon was trying to keep her head amid frantic worry over her mother's condition and their suddenly menacing situation and not entirely succeeding.

"Mom, how bad is it?" she demanded. "How are you doing?"

"My head's spinning," moaned Serenity. "Your Aunt Rei's always saying I'm dizzy . . ."

"MOM, DON'T JOKE AT A TIME LIKE THIS!" wailed Sailor Moon. "We've got to get that leaf out of your chest!"

The sixteen year old senshi grasped the seemingly harmless leaf with both hands and pulled.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAGGGHHH!" cried Serenity. Sailor Moon released the leaf as if it were radioactive.

"MOM?" she gasped.

"Hurts like anything when you pull on it," whimpered Serenity. The pain seemed to subside and with it the queen's flagging stoicism. "I guess it's not coming out that way."

"Are you strong enough to teleport back to Earth? I just know Aunt Ami can find a way to get that out of you."

The queen shook her head. "It was all I could do to get us this far," Serenity wheezed. "This leaf is sapping my strength and jumbling my thoughts. I can't focus enough to connect fully with the Silver Crystal and summon its power." She touched Sailor Moon's forearm. "But you can make it. You've traveled to Elysian on your own. Go. Please."

"I'm not leaving you!" fumed Sailor Moon.

"Usa, please," begged Queen Serenity. "There's no sense in both of us risking ourselves."

"You'd rather see me live as a coward?" Sailor Moon replied, stunned, angry and just a bit contemptuous. "You'd rather see me run away and leave you here to die? Sailor Moon wouldn't do that, and I AM Sailor Moon."

Serenity dropped her gaze before her daughter's withering glare, though she smiled faintly.

"Forgive me," she whispered. "I was just trying to protect you. It's a hard habit to break. You're my baby and I love you. But you're a big girl now and you can make decisions like this on your own." The Queen looked back up into her daughter's big red eyes. "What do you suggest we do - - Sailor Moon?"

Sailor Moon thought a moment.

"Maybe I can destroy it," she said, producing the Crescent Moon Wand. She held it directly over her mother's chest. "Moon Healing Escalation!"

Pink moon dust sprinkled down from the wand, occasionally catching the faint light of the glen and sparkling as they fell. As the particles touched down on Queen Serenity's chest and the green leaf sticking out of it, they began to glow on their own. Serenity's eyes closed and she arched up as the healing power of the wand spread through her. Her ruby lips parted, revealing pearl white teeth. The teeth parted, as if she were just on the verge of whispering something, perhaps "refresh".

But the word never came. Serenity grimaced and sagged back down, the pink glow around her dying. The leaf was still stuck stem first in her chest. Sailor Moon's shoulders slumped and she bowed her head.

"I couldn't do it," she muttered bitterly.

"Usa," Serenity said, seeking out her daughter's hand and grasping it tightly. "You have to learn to accept your limitations. Just because you failed doesn't make you a failure. No one can do everything, not even me. We all have limitations. The key is to learn to do your best within those limitations."

Her daughter didn't respond. She was too angry with herself.

"Look at me, honey," persisted Serenity. "I'm over a thousand years old. Yet I'm still horrible at math, I write like a five year old and the most basic scientific concept goes right over my head. I'm far from perfect, as you've loudly pointed out from time to time, but I've accepted my limitations and found a way around them so that I can use my strengths as best I can. And if I can do it, you can certainly do it. Stop punishing yourself for what you can't do. Instead, be proud of what you are and not envious of what you think you should be."

Her eyes stinging with tears, Sailor Moon softly nodded. Then suddenly she bent down and hugged her mother tightly. Serenity joyously returned the gesture.

"We need to do this more often," Serenity said. "I like hugging you."

"Mom," Sailor Moon sighed while still hugging her. "Don't go mental on me, huh?"

"Brat," Serenity smirked.

A sudden noise caught Sailor Moon's ear. Quickly she disengaged from her mother and was up, crouched defensively. The Crescent Moon Wand was in her right hand, ready to use at a moment's notice. Her eyes warily scanned the dense, dark forest around them in search of an enemy while her ears strained for some new sign of who or what was coming toward them through the underbrush. Serenity wondered what her daughter sensed, for she heard nothing and saw even less. But she was ready to lend whatever meager aid she could now muster to help her daughter fight.

From the dense shadows of the wooded area, a woman appeared. She was young, with pale yellow hair cut to shoulder length. She wore a woven cloth blouse, knit knee-length pants and crude leather boots. In a way she resembled someone from the Torgus rather than from Shinrin's clan. Serenity noticed above everything else the piercing look from violet eyes, a look that seemed to notice everything. The woman's gait was quick and sure, as if she were as at home in the forest as Shinrin or one of her number, but unhurried. As she approached, she looked them both over and seemed to analyze them instantly.

"That's far enough!" warned Sailor Moon, brandishing the Crescent Moon Wand. "What do you want?"

"I mean you no harm, warrior!" the strange woman said, showing her empty hands as a gesture of peace. "I heard the moans of pain from your fallen companion and wished to see if I could help. I can see now that she has run afoul of Danro Ganjou."

"How do you know him?" Sailor Moon demanded.

"I am quite familiar with Danro and his mate," she replied with some sadness. "If he pursues you, you will need shelter. I can give that to you. Can your companion walk?"

"We're just supposed to trust you like that?" Sailor Moon replied. "We don't know anything about you."

"Sailor Moon," Serenity interrupted. "I trust her."

"You trusted Shinrin, too," Sailor Moon shot back.

"Usa," Serenity persisted gently, "you have to give people a chance to be trustworthy. It's a leap of faith sometimes, but the alternative is being very lonely."

"Your companion is wise," the woman said. She glanced around warily. "And you must decide quickly. The longer we are exposed like this, the more likely Danro is to find you."

Torn, Sailor Moon remained indecisive. She wanted to trust the woman, but her mother's life might hang on a wrong decision. Then Serenity struggled to her feet, making the decision for her. Scowling, she propped her mother's arm over her shoulder and helped her along.

"Thank you for your kindness," Serenity said as they followed the stranger. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Serenity of Earth and this is my daughter, Sailor Moon."

"Earth? I don't know this land you're from." The woman glanced back at Sailor Moon. "Is this a planet? Clearly from the looks of your daughter, you are not of this world."

"No, we're just," Serenity told her, "visiting."

"You can tell me as much or as little as you like when we reach my shelter," the woman told her. "You are on the run from Shinrin and Danro. That is enough for me." They continued on. "Forgive me. I haven't named myself. I am now known only as Shintoru."

"Now?"

"Once," the woman said, extracting a painful memory, "I was known by a different name: Sailor Eichi."

Continued in Chapter 10


	10. Weeping Willow

THE PERSON I LOOK UP TO

Chapter 10: "Weeping Willow"  
A Neo-Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

Through the great forest they came. Nearly seventy in number, they came as one,following the bidding of their queen. The birds quieted and the small forest animals hushed and hid, observing the humans as they made their way toward the river. In the lead was a woman,  
with white hair and a fair face set in unyielding determination. She strode purposefully through the forest, unafraid of anything that might come, for she had the divine blessing of the Mother Forest and the power that came with it. And she would do the bidding of the Mother Forest and bring the enlightenment of the Mother Forest to those who did not believe.

And they would believe. They would believe or be swept under.

"Mama," a young girl timidly said, gazing up at her mother as they walked near the back of the pack, "where are we going?"

"To the home of the Torgus, Peusou," her mother, a quiet, timid thing of just twenty summers, replied.

"Why? Sailor Hayashi always said the Torgus were bad," Peusou, just a child of five, inquired.

"She's," the mother began haltingly, "she's going to-to deal with them."

"Is she going to hurt them?"

The woman looked down. "If they resist."

"But I thought it was wrong to hurt people."

"Shh," her mother cautioned. "Others are listening." The woman glanced up and saw to her left an older woman glance back at her with hateful disdain. She pulled her daughter closer and continued on, avoiding the suspicious glare of her fellow clanswoman.

The procession emerged from the forest and came to the bank of the raging river. Some began to turn, to journey downstream to the bridge that would safely carry them across. Shinrin, though, stood and waited for her people to realize that she was not headed where they were. The people quickly stopped and turned inquiringly toward her.

"You need not depend upon that which destroys the bounty of the forest," Shinrin said with a clarity of purpose that was exhilarating to some and frightening to others. "Abandon them and be pure."

"But how can we cross the mighty river without the bridge?" one of the men at the head of the pack asked.

"The Mother Forest provides for all who believe in her," Shinrin replied.

She turned to the river and spread her arms out. As her head lolled back slightly, the Queen took on a green glow. Her animal fur toga hiked up on her lithe body as she spread her arms higher. While her subjects watched, Queen Shinrin stepped forward toward the swift current of the river. Several gasped and surged forward, seeking to grab Shinrin before she fell in.

But she didn't fall in. Her foot stepped atop the water as if it were flat and hard rather than coursing and writhing beneath her. She stepped again and again and it was as if the water of the river dared not touch her. The people of Shinrin's clan stared in wonder.

"Come," she said, looking back over her shoulder at them. "Follow me. If you believe, follow me. If you believe, walk with me on the path of light."

Some of her more zealous followers moved immediately. They clamored up onto the invisible bridge and as their feet touched it their soles glowed green. Others hung back. It was too much to comprehend, too much of a leap of faith for some, while others bore no ill will to the Torgus so long as they stayed on their side of the river. No good could come from venturing across the river on Queen Shinrin's magic bridge of nothing and they hung back.

Their unwillingness to follow was quickly noted.

"Obey your queen!" snapped one of the men, barking at the stragglers. His eyes focused on Peusou and her mother. "Get on the divine bridge now! Your queen demands it!"

"But," gasped the woman, trembling with fear, "what if my child should fall? She is so young! She-she might not yet have the faith to sustain the bridge of nothing!"

"The Mother Forest provides through our great Queen Shinrin!" snapped the man. "Obey her!"

"But if she falls into the river, she will die!" cried the mother. "She's all I have!"

"If she falls, it is the will of the great Mother Forest," the cold reply came. "You dare to question the great Mother Forest? Are you with us or do you name yourself enemy?"

"Please, Mama, let's go home!" whimpered Peusou.

"Turn your back on Queen Shinrin and you'll have no home," the man growled.

The woman dropped her head, clutching her daughter and hoping that some divine providence would arrive and spare her the decision facing her. When none came, she stooped her shoulders and prodded her daughter toward the bridge. As they stepped on the energy field, the woman clutched her daughter tighter. If they were to fall through to their deaths, at least they would die together.

To her relief, the energy field over the river held and she and her daughter skittered across to the other side. Once on land again, the young mother breathed a sigh of relief. Her relief was short-lived, though, snuffed out by the sullen stares of those who believed in the greatness of the Mother Forest and of Queen Shinrin - - instead of live and let live.

* * *

"You're Sailor Eichi?" gasped Sailor Moon. Her mother, Queen Serenity, was equally amazed. The three women were in a modest cabin set in the forest about a half mile from the Torgus village.

"I was," the woman named Shintoru said. There was an ache to her reply.

"But Shinrin said you were dead," Serenity stated with amazement.

"In her eyes, I am," sighed the woman. She reflexively brushed her blonde hair away from her face. "I dared to question her attack on the Torgus. I dared to question the logic of forcing your ways upon another people. I began to recognize that believing something different than what you believe doesn't make another person evil." Shintoru expelled an exhausted sigh.

"She attacked the Torgus?" Sailor Moon questioned. "I thought they attacked her clan."

"In her mind, they did," Shintoru explained and as she spoke, both Sailor Moon and Serenity noticed the same qualities of logic and tolerance that Ami had. "They rejected the ways of the forest. They began to farm, to build tools, to construct dwellings - - to progress scientifically. This was heresy to Hayashi. It was a slap in the face, a rejection of everything she held dear, everything she believed in. She was determined to go to them, to find out who had corrupted them and deal with them." Shintoru snorted bitterly. "Dealing with evil - - that's what senshi do."

"If this is too painful," Serenity began.

"Gaining knowledge may incur some pain," Shintoru whispered, almost as an oath, "but the real harm comes from remaining ignorant. I'll go on if you like. This isn't nearly as painful as when it actually happened." Serenity nodded. "We went to the Torgus village, Hayashi,  
Kokoro and I, to find out what was corrupting these people. As we investigated, I began to realize that there was no evil, corrupting force. They had just chosen a different lifestyle."

Shintoru stared at nothing, lost in her memory and guilt.

"Hayashi's efforts were not gentle. She let her outrage get the better of her. The Torgus, in turn, began using force against us to repel us from their homes. It's only logical. That in turn set off Kokoro. Kokoro never was one to hide her emotions - - and she never was one to shy away from protecting Hayashi." Shintoru's shy smile turned into a frown. "The Torgus didn't stand a chance against either Hayashi or Kokoro. Together it was - - genocide. I couldn't let her do that. She'd always stood for the best of the forest. I tried to dissuade her. I tried to stop her."

"And she turned on you?" Serenity asked, a tear in her voice. Shintoru nodded.

"That act of - - well, betrayal is too harsh of a word, but it's what Kokoro felt. It made her realize Hayashi was out of control. They began to battle. Kokoro was actually a threat to her, which naturally brought Kamen Irori." Shintoru sighed again. "If only he'd arrived sooner. Sailor Kokoro might still be alive."

"She killed one of her own senshi?" whispered Sailor Moon.

"We all acted badly," Shintoru said. "At the time, I failed to notice just how horrified she was. She and Kaiki - - Kokoro - - were like sisters in everything but blood. Hayashi was shattered, and for all my supposed intellect, I didn't notice. I was too busy feeling angry and betrayed." The woman grimaced. "During everything, the Torgus saw their chance to strike back. A spear - - one of the 'evil tools' Hayashi railed against, hit Kamen Irori in the ribs. I know something about healing. He was alive, but he didn't have long. His lung was punctured and organs were damaged. He might last the night, but not much longer, and only in great agony. Hayashi nearly went insane in that moment. Perhaps she did, though that would be an easy explanation. She poured all of her power into Kamen Irori, trying to heal him. It was beyond her, though. I knew it." Shintoru paused. "And then suddenly it wasn't."

"Her moment of supreme crisis triggered her ascension," Serenity said.

"Is that what happened?" Shintoru asked. "It explains many things. The Torgus were forgotten. We retrieved Kokoro and Kamen Irori and left. Hayashi spent the entire night healing him while I laid Kaiki to rest. In the morning, I grieved for one lost friend and rejoiced that two others had survived." Shintoru looked down. "But Hayashi had changed. Changed beyond the scope of her abilities; she was different. Or perhaps I just saw things more clearly. Looking back, I can recall incidents and oddly phrased answers to questions that lead me to think she's always been overly zealous in her belief in the Mother Forest mythology and I was too blinded by friendship and devotion to notice."

"Please don't blame yourself," Serenity said earnestly. "We all are obligated to be worthy of another's friendship and trust."

Shintoru silently digested this, mulling it over along with the fresh pain of old wounds. Serenity and Sailor Moon sat and watched her.

"So, um," Sailor Moon began awkwardly, "is there anything you can do about that leaf stuck in Mom's chest? Because Mom's the only person who can stand up to Shinrin right now."

"I wish there was," Shintoru said. "Perhaps someone as wise and gentle as you, Serenity, might pierce the veil of zealous righteousness that has corrupted my-my friend. But Kamen Irori's leaf attack is very powerful, and since his ascension to Danro Ganjou it's become even more powerful. It's beyond anything I can do. But I vow to defend you if he does manage to track you here."

Serenity nodded gratefully, trying not to let her disappointment show. Then she grimaced and held her head with her hand.

"Mom?" Sailor Moon gasped fearfully.

"Just dizzy," Serenity wheezed. "It feels like the room is spinning."

"I have an herbal potion that can ease the dizzying effects of Kamen Irori's leaf attack," Shintoru offered. She rose and headed for the next room in the cabin.

Queen Serenity felt the steadying hands of her daughter on her shoulders and was grateful for it. Her hands went up and grasped her daughter by the arms. When her sight cleared enough, she glanced over at the girl. Immediately she saw the disillusionment mixed in with the concern for her.

"Usa?" she prompted softly.

"I don't get it, Mom," Sailor Moon said. "Shinrin was a senshi. Senshi aren't supposed to act like that. Senshi are supposed to help people."

"In her mind, she thinks she is," Serenity offered.

"Mom, don't make excuses for her!"

"Usa, even senshi are human," Serenity replied gently. "The power we possess can corrupt us. You remember the story of Sailor Galaxia, don't you? Even the best of us can fall prey to the corrupting influence of power."

"You didn't," Sailor Moon said. "What kept you from giving in to it?"

Serenity smiled shyly. "Well, probably because I've never thought my power made me better than everyone else. I've always questioned what I do and I've always turned to the advice of others and listened to that advice. And whenever I do begin to get a swelled head, I have you or Rei or Luna to put me in my place." The Queen sobered. "Shinrin, unfortunately, lacks the humility to temper her power. She thinks her vision is infallible - - and the minute you start thinking that, you're done for." Serenity gripped her daughter's arm urgently. "Usa, some day you're going to ascend to the level that Shinrin and I are at now. If you don't remember anything else I've told you, please remember that humility is just as important to you as power, maybe more. It could save you, and it could save many other people, too."

Sailor Moon stared solemnly at her mother.

"I will, Mom," she said in a very small voice. The grateful look she got from her mother made her feel good about herself.

* * *

"HAYASHI IS RETURNING!"

The words stopped everyone in the village in their tracks. The memory was still fresh in everyone's mind of the last time Sailor Hayashi had stormed into their village, using her powers to assault homes, fences, implements and anything else that offended her righteous eye and attacking anyone who dared disagree with her. No one wanted her return. They had barely fended her off the last time and only because her two fellow senshi had turned upon her.

But they knew she would be back, and they were ready.

The mob swept into the clearing with Shinrin in the lead. The more zealous of her followers crowded around her, secure in her proximity. Those swept along because they lacked the knowledge or the courage to defy her hung back and watched with confusion or anxiety. Shinrin stood at the front of the horde, tall and confident, her white hair blowing in the wind and her gaze sure and strong. They found the remaining members of the village ducked down behind any cover they could find, glaring out at them - - ready for anything. In moments, one man rose from behind his concealment.

"Leave here, Hayashi!" he called out a defiant warning. "We don't want you here!"

"I am Shinrin now, Queen of the Forest Clan and the chosen vessel of the Great Mother Forest herself," Shinrin called out. "I have come to give you one last chance. Abandon your sacrilege and return to the bosom of the forest that created you."

"Farming is not a sacrilege!" the man volleyed back. "Building tools and constructing shelters with those tools is not a sacrilege! We have abandoned the old ways for new ways! That is not wrong! That is just different! It is no crime to be different!"

"You reject the shelter of the trees for these huts of mud and stone! You reject the bounty of the trees and presume to be the Mother Forest herself, cultivating plants you grow yourself! You clothe yourselves in woven fibers instead of the skins of animals provided by the Mother Forest! You spit in the face of the Mother Forest!"

Shinrin's eyes blazed as she spoke and ally and adversary alike could feel the air crackle with building energy.

"But the Mother Forest is forgiving of her wayward children," Shinrin said with unearthly calm. Then she gestured to her right with a down-sweep of her hand and to the astonishment of all an invisible force crushed a home flat. "Confess your wayward ways. Reject them and embrace the ways of the forest once more and she will welcome you back with open arms." Shinrin gestured to her left and flattened a small field of crops. "The Mother Forest is a loving mother and only wishes the return of her wayward children."

Shinrin gave them a gentle but mirthless smile. Her answer was a thrown rock. It struck her energy field about shoulder high and glanced off. Eyes narrowing, Shinrin pointed toward a stone border wall. The wall flew apart, revealing three men and a woman behind it.

One of the men was seized by an invisible hand and hauled up twenty feet into the air. Shinrin calmly walked up underneath where he dangled, struggling to free himself from the grip of nothing. Everybody watched her, the mood of the gathered a swirling cauldron of guilt and terror, triumph and anger, awe and desperation.

"LET HIM GO!" wailed the woman, reaching for her dangling mate as the other two men held her back. Shinrin ignored her, focusing on the man her power held aloft.

"Why?" Shinrin asked, hurt and confused. "Why do you continue to reject her love? Are you possessed? Are you insane? Why do you throw away such a wonderful gift?"

The pressure around the man continued unabated. He struggled in vain until it finally wrenched a strangled scream of agony from him.

And then he slumped forward and breathed no more.

* * *

Serenity suddenly stirred. She tried to push up from her place on the floor, then stopped short and grimaced. One hand clutched her head while the other grasped at the leaf in her chest.

"Mom, don't get up!" pleaded Sailor Moon. "You have to rest!"

"Your daughter is right," Shintoru concurred. "The more active you are, the more the leaf of Kamen Irori leeches from you. You must rest and regain your strength. Only then do you have a hope of removing it."

"But," panted Serenity, struggling to pierce the haze and get up, "Shinrin's attacked the Torgus. I felt it. She's killing them."

"I feared it would come to this," Shintoru whispered bitterly. "I had hoped it would wait until I could think of a way to stop her. But that hope is gone."

"I have to help them," Serenity persisted, struggling against Shintoru and Sailor Moon. "I made her what she is! I have to stop her!"

"You can do nothing against her in your present condition," Shintoru told her.

"I have to try! I'm the only one with a chance to stop her!"

"It's suicide, Mom!" Sailor Moon wailed.

"It's genocide if I don't!" heaved Serenity.

Serenity struggled to her feet as Shintoru backed away. Immediately she teetered and Sailor Moon caught her.

"You're not going to listen to reason, are you?" Sailor Moon fussed. "All right then, let's do this. We'll face this together, as senshi."

"Eichi Power Make Up!" they heard behind them. Turning, they found Shintoru in a gold tunic with a blue skirt, bow and boots, all made of animal hide. She met their gaze proudly. "I vowed to defend you, Queen Serenity. I can best keep that vow as Sailor Eichi. Perhaps three senshi may triumph against Shinrin where two might not."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Shintoru," came a male voice. The three women whirled and found Danro standing in the doorway.

continued in Chapter 11


	11. Inner Strength

THE PERSON I LOOK UP TO

Chapter 11: "Inner Strength"  
A Neo-Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

"Danro!" Sailor Eichi gasped.

Instantly Sailor Moon moved in front of Queen Serenity. She took a defensive position, the Crescent Moon Wand appearing in her hand. Serenity wanted to protest, but held her tongue. She knew that her daughter was doing her job and didn't need to be distracted by her concerns and worries.

She was too weak anyway.

"You still stand with our enemies, Sailor Eichi?" Danro asked as he walked into the room. He had a confidence to his gait, born of his powerful physical stature and his abilities as Kamen Irori, but there was a sadness to him at facing a former ally. Serenity sensed that he didn't want to fight Eichi.

"I stand with what's right, Danro," Eichi replied. "Shinrin is obsessed with her beliefs and obsessed with her power. She's committing evil in the name of good. I've told you that before. If that makes us enemies, then it's her fault, not mine."

"I don't want to fight you," Danro appealed to her. "I don't want to fight any of you. If only you could see what she sees. She is on a much higher plane than any of us. She sees truths that we can't hope to see."

"You used to be a man of logic!" Eichi retorted. "A man of thought! Is your love for her so strong that it's blinded you to what she's doing?"

"Perhaps. I want to believe in her," he said softly. "I do believe in her! She is communicating with The Mother Forest! She has been touched by greatness!" His features hardened. "Submit to her vision or you'll be swept aside."

"That just proves she doesn't see the forest for the trees!" Sailor Moon growled. "Moon Healing Escalation!"

"Usa," Sailor Moon heard her mother whisper as she projected her pink-tinted power out from the wand. "Clear your mind of anger. If you fight angry, you sap your power."

Sailor Moon felt herself burn with shame. She knew that. She shouldn't have to be told, and yet her mother had to tell her. When was this ever going to become easy for her?

At once, Sailor Moon focused on the threat speeding toward her. Three leaves, launched by the suddenly cat-like Danro Ganjou, were speeding toward her stem first. If one could incapacitate her mother, what would three do to her? She was about to find out because the senshi realized that she'd never move out of the way in time.

"Mind's Eye Winds!" Sailor Eichi suddenly shouted.

Without warning, the leaves were swatted from the air by an invisible hand. Sailor Moon glanced toward Eichi, but the senshi was already moving to avoid the swift charge of Danro. Sailor Moon brought the wand to bear, trying to hit Danro with its calming, healing effect, but the man was just too fast. Fighting him in closed quarters was becoming a disadvantage. His reflexes were phenomenal and any attack they made on him just seemed to give him the opportunity to counterattack.

Suddenly Danro tripped on something unseen. Hazarding a glance, Sailor Moon saw her mother gesturing. She'd tripped Danro with what little power she could muster. But it was a costly move, for Serenity stumbled back against the far wall clutching her head. Turning back to the battle, the girl found Danro already up and crouched, ready to attack at any time from any direction.

"Mind's Eye Winds!" Sailor Eichi shouted again.

Several stone objects rose up into the air, then launched at Danro. Sailor Moon gaped for a single second.

"She's a telekinetic, like Pallas!" Sailor Moon realized.

She watched the missiles speed toward Danro. He seemed to be targeted perfectly, but at the last moment his fantastic strength and reflexes allowed him to avoid the projectiles. Even as he dodged, Danro launched two move leaves at Eichi. The woman threw up her hands and the leaves struck an invisible shield, bouncing away.

This was going too long. Sailor Moon wished she still had her tiara. It might be a more effective attack against Danro than her wand. The best her wand might be able to do was pacify Danro. If she had time, she might be able to focus enough energy through the wand to use to defeat him. That was looking less and less like a possibility.

The wand tracked Danro as he and Eichi bounded around the room seeking to launch their own attacks and avoid the other's. If she could just get one good shot in.

"Aahhhhhhh!" Sailor Moon gasped in surprise. Out of nowhere, a leaf projectile whizzed past her, striking the wand and ripping it out of her hand. The wand clattered along the floor toward the far wall. Sailor Moon immediately turned and pursued the wand, oblivious to how vulnerable she might now be.

Danro recognized it instantly.

As she ran across the floor, Sailor Moon glanced behind her when she heard the alarmed cry of her mother. Danro was almost on top of her, his eyes as cold and as merciless as when he killed the rampaging Ceelot. Suddenly Sailor Moon realized that she'd just screwed up badly.

And then he wasn't there. Sailor Moon didn't see where he went, but heard a thud and an impact of bodies. She lunged for the Crescent Moon Wand, knowing that it was her only defense against Danro. Turning back, she saw Sailor Eichi had intercepted him, tackling Danro and sending them both tumbling. Eichi was flung away from Danro by the man's superior strength. She rolled along the floor and up into a defensive crouch, ready to attack.

But Danro was faster. No sooner had Eichi reached her knees than a leaf buried itself stem first into her chest with uncanny accuracy. The impact threw Eichi back against the wall. Grimacing out loud from the combined force of the leaf and the impact, the woman stiffened,  
then sagged to the floor barely conscious.

Breathing hard from his exertion, but nonetheless still a threat, Danro stood up and faced his remaining quarry. Serenity was backed into a corner. It was all she could do to keep her feet. Just skidding to a protective position in front of her was Sailor Moon. The girl hunched her shoulders, planted her feet and stuck the wand out before her like it was a sword.

"Leave my mother alone," Sailor Moon warned. There was no anger in her voice. There was resolution. Danro would not pass as long as she breathed.

"You have a great deal of potential, young warrior," Danro said, advancing on them, "but you're in over your head."

* * *

The sun was setting in the west over the horizon. Crystal Tokyo would, for a few fleeting moments, be cast in hues of red and orange and have an unnatural fire to it. Then the argon fusion lighting would take over and recolor the city in a neon yellow-white brilliance.

Haruka peered out of the hatch leading to the aero-pad. She was looking for a particular firefly this night and she found her. Hotaru was braced against the wall, sitting next to Rei on the aero-pad. The pair gazed up into the heavens, their trepidation buried under a layer of enforced patience. The Asteroids had long since gone inside. A pang pricked Haruka's heart. She was sad that her precious little firefly had to know such fear and trepidation. How unfair, o life, to bring such melancholy to such a tender, innocent spirit.

The pretentiousness of the thought brought a smile to Haruka's face.

"You going to wait out here all night?" Haruka asked, cautiously ambling over. Rei glanced at her with neutral acknowledgment.

"Yes," Hotaru replied. Then her resolve faded. "If it's all right," she added.

"Suppose there's worse places you could be," Haruka shrugged. "But if you're going to sit out here on this windy pad all night, get a blanket. I don't want you getting sick."

"Yes, Papa," Hotaru whispered. The girl got up and walked into the palace.

"If things get too cold, I can always make a fire," Rei replied.

"I understand her," Haruka said, kneeling down next to Rei. "She's a kid and kids get emotionally strung out about a lot of things. But you? I figure you of all people would have more faith."

"I don't let faith blind me," Rei glanced at Haruka, "like some people. I know Serenity's powerful and Usa's a lot more competent than anyone gives her credit for, and Endymion's on the way, too. But I also know that there's a million different dangers in the universe and someday fortune is going to run out for Serenity or Usa or both of them. How close did we come to losing Usa to those plant things?" Rei set her jaw and returned her gaze to the sky. "I have to know they're safe. I can't rest until I do."

"Then maybe you should go after them," Haruka shrugged. "If it was Michiru or Hotaru and I was worried about them, I'd go after them."

"And if Endymion expressly forbade you?"

Haruka looked Rei squarely in the eye, maintaining her detached manner.

"I'd tell him where he could leap and go anyway," Haruka replied.

"That's why you've never 'worked and played well with others'," Rei smirked knowingly.

"Beats sitting around worrying," Haruka countered.

"And if you made things worse?"

"Then if the gods are merciful, we'll die together."

"That's a pleasant thought."

"I'd rather die with Michiru and Hotaru than bury them."

"How many centuries have we had this debate?" Rei asked.

"I never bothered to count," Haruka smirked. "They'll come home, Rei."

"You know this for a fact?"

"Yeah." Haruka glanced at Hotaru, returning with a blanket under her arms. "Because Serenity knows better than to make my little Firefly sad."

When Hotaru reached them, Haruka bent down and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Don't do anything desperate," she told Hotaru. "Usa and Serenity will come home safe."

"Thank you for letting me stay up here, Papa," Hotaru said.

"Hey, no problem. If you're up here, then I know you're not with 'that boy'," Haruka tossed over her shoulder.

"PAPA!" fumed Hotaru. Rei tried to smother a laugh.

* * *

"Moon Healing," Sailor Moon began, earnestly willing everything she had through the jewel affixed to the Crescent Moon Wand.

Her mother saw it first. With a whipping motion, Danro Ganjou threw a leaf at Sailor Moon, seeking to disable her before she could get her power phrase out. The queen tried to erect a shield in front of them, but nothing came. Her brain hurt and she was so dizzy and confused. And just as suddenly the leaf wasn't there. Had she imagined it? No, the downward motion of Sailor Moon's arm swatted the leaf away with the wand itself.

"Escalation!" Sailor Moon finished, flashing Danro a quick smirk of triumph. An energy barrier sprang up between them and Danro's follow up leaves glanced harmlessly away.

"Well countered," Danro replied. There was a lack of frustration in the man that was at once infuriating and scary. Sailor Moon's eyes darted around, trying to see what she was missing.

Without warning, a walking staff appeared in Danro's hand. It was a weathered old tree limb, honed and hardened into a solid, if slightly gnarled, staff. Danro continued to approach. His aura, already impressive from his physical power, grew in size with the appearance of the staff. The staff balanced effortlessly between Danro's two hands. Sailor Moon gritted her teeth and poured everything she could muster into the energy barrier being projected by the Wand.

"You have power," Danro said.

Suddenly the staff lashed out with the speed of a cobra strike. Sailor Moon moved the wand and the barrier it projected to intercept. With amazing speed, Danro countered and swung the staff down, Sailor Moon caught it at the last moment.

"And you have some skill," Danro continued.

Instantly he delivered three quick blows with the ends of the staff, to her other knee, to her opposite shoulder and to her mid-section. Each time Sailor Moon caught the blow on her energy barrier - - barely. Thank goodness for those self-defense classes Makoto taught. But he wasn't letting her get set to mount any kind of counterattack. And the feedback was like bumblebees buzzing incessantly in her ears.

"And a great deal of courage," Danro continued calmly, as if he were teaching a class. "I suspect some of that courage is born from defending family."

The staff swung up and then down like an ax. Sailor Moon caught it at the last moment, but it didn't linger on her shield. The staff changed course immediately. The senshi couldn't move in time to parry and felt the stinging impact of the staff across her right knee. Hissing in pain, her right knee buckling, Sailor Moon sank down to one knee.

"USA!" Serenity gasped out.

"But you've taken on far too great a task," Danro said dispassionately.

A blow to the head was blocked by her wand's shield. A whip-like blow to the side was not. Suddenly blows were coming at the girl from all directions. Some she caught, some she didn't. There were so many and they were so fast. It was like Danro had two staffs or three. For every two she caught, a third would get through and exact a heavy toll in pain. Her right knee was numb from the blow it took. Her left side was on fire and there were ugly welts on her thigh and calf. Still the blows kept coming, moving as fast as she could block, moving faster than she could think. There had to be something she could do, some way to put Danro on the defensive. If things kept up like this for very much longer, he would overwhelm her and her mother would be defenseless.

Danro's shoulder dipped. It was the only warning she had before the staff whipped across her ankles and swept her feet out from under her. Sailor Moon landed in an awkward heap between Danro and Serenity. She looked up, trying to see the finishing blow and somehow deflect it. She had to keep fighting. Her mother was depending upon her. All the innocents on this world were depending upon her.

But Danro's stance wasn't aimed at delivering the final blow to her. His staff cocked, prepared to deliver a killing stroke to Serenity. For her part, Serenity extended a feeble hand,perhaps trying to use her powers, perhaps merely to fend off the blow everyone knew she was too weak to fend off. It was just a second, and in that second Sailor Moon figuratively glimpsed the future: Her mother dead, herself broken and defeated, innocents wailing in torment under the theocratic heel of Queen Shinrin. The killing blow to her mother seemed to loop over and over again in her mind's eye.

"NO!" Sailor Moon wailed, wailed like she hadn't wailed since she was five and face to face with an attacking Dark Moon Sister Petz. A crescent moon mark appeared on her forehead, vibrating with power, and a column of light shot up from her into the air and through the roof.

Amazed, Danro stumbled back, shielding his face from the sudden burst of power. Through the blue-white glare, he saw Sailor Moon levitate to her feet. Her hands were crossed over her chest and her head tilted back in a rapture. Seeing that she was vulnerable in this position, Danro swung the staff with a killing stroke. The staff struck the energy column and snapped off.

Stunned into silence and inaction, Danro, Serenity and the barely conscious Sailor Eichi looked as Sailor Moon hovered six inches off the floor of the shelter. Her long trails of pink hair fluttered in a direct vertical line to the ceiling. Her short skirt whipped immodestly away from her hips and up her torso. Throughout it all, Sailor Moon seemed oblivious to everyone and everything around her. It was as if she was communicating with someone or something not of this plane of reality. Of all the witnesses, only Queen Serenity realized what it was.

Slowly, delicately, the princess touched down onto the floor again. The energy column dissipated. Her hair and skirt dropped back down, in gravity's control once more. Her head bowed and her hands remained crossed over her chest. The only thing different was that the Crescent Moon Wand was gone, replaced by a new weapon.

"The Moon Scepter," Serenity realized. "She's ascended to the next level!"

Shaking his surprise off, Danro raised the remnant of his staff up, ready to impale Sailor Moon with it.

"Usa!" Serenity choked out. "Say 'Moon Princess Halation'!"

"Moon Princess Halation!" Sailor Moon called out, mechanically extending the Moon Scepter in front of her.

Pink tendrils shot out from the scepter and seized Danro. They quickly wrapped around him and forced him to drop the staff. Danro was lifted off the floor and into the air, straining hopelessly against the pink bands that gripped him. All the while Sailor Moon stood as if in a trance, her long trails of hair moving slightly in an unfelt breeze. Danro fought, fought for all he was worth to break free of the binding tendrils. Then suddenly he stiffened. A deep sigh escaped his throat and the man went limp. The tendrils gently brought him to rest on the floor. There he slept, a smile of contentment etched on his handsome face.

"Sailor Moon?" Serenity asked, fighting through the haze that still gripped her to see to her child.

Sailor Moon's shoulders sagged and she seemed to slip back into reality. For a moment she seemed disoriented. She looked at Serenity and at once everything came flooding back. The girl burst into tears and collapsed against her mother's shoulder. Serenity managed enough strength to fold her arms around her baby girl.

"Oh, Mom!" sobbed Sailor Moon. "I was so scared he was going to kill you!"

"So was I, honey," Serenity whispered in her ear as she stroked Sailor Moon's hair. "But he didn't. You saved me."

A presence tickled the back of her mind and Serenity looked over to the door. Endymion stood framed by it, ready to act to save the two women he loved more than anything. Serenity gave him a grateful smile and extended a shaky hand to him. He was across the floor in a second and both women fell into familiar positions against his chest.

"What happened?" he asked.

"We ran into a little trouble," Serenity told him. "Sailor Moon handled it. She was very brave, Endymion. And she's taken the next step, all by herself. You should have seen her."

Sailor Moon could only snuffle her agreement. Endymion gripped her tighter and kissed the top of her head. And hidden from his view, the edges of a tiny pink mouth curled with contentment.

Serenity's grunt of pain brought Endymion out of his reverie. He pulled back and saw the leaf, its stem embedded in his wife's chest. Reflexively he reached for it.

"No, don't, Pop!" Sailor Moon exclaimed. "If you try to pull it out, it'll only hurt her worse. I couldn't get it before. Maybe I can now."

"No, honey, I think I can handle it now," Serenity told her.

She extended her hand to Endymion and he automatically took it. Sailor Moon stepped back and saw their auras flare up, the gold of her father's mixing with the silver of her mother's. Serenity seemed to swoon into Endymion's arms, but they kept holding hands the entire time. The aura flared up, then receded. Endymion eased Serenity to her feet.

The leaf was gone.

"Well that certainly feels much better," exclaimed Serenity. Instantly she turned to Sailor Eichi and knelt down next to the senshi. Meanwhile Endymion's hand sought out his daughter's cheek and caressed it.

"You did a good job," Endymion told her. Sailor Moon's gaze dropped shyly, but he caught the happy grin on her face. "And you didn't want to go."

"Don't rub it in, Pop," Sailor Moon grumbled peevishly.

"We still have work to do, Endymion," Serenity said, helping the newly cured Sailor Eichi to her feet. "The ascended senshi on this world has gone berserk." Guilt drove the queen's gaze to the floor. "And it's all my fault."

Continued in Chapter 12


	12. The Face Of Evil

THE PERSON I LOOK UP TO

Chapter 12: "The Face of Evil"  
A Neo-Sailor Moon fanfic

By Bill K.

The woman cradled her son of three to her breast and looked up fearfully. Surrounding her was the stuff of nightmares. Flattened huts and flailed crops, broken tools and carts scattered amid broken and bleeding bodies. Some reached up with unseeing eyes for relief from any source that might provide it. Others merely grew cold in death.

Towering above her was the demonic summation of every fear, real or imagined, that had haunted her through her young life. Queen Shinrin, her hands only symbolically covered in the blood of her rival clan, looked down upon her with her steely, unforgiving gaze. She was framed by the rising sun, casting her face in an unearthly shadow, obscuring most of it until she was just a pair of glaring eyes surrounded by a mane of white hair.

Her son whimpered in terror and she clutched him more fiercely to her. Her mind raced, trying to find something that she could do to save them both, and coming up short.

"Do you accept the salvation of the Mother Forest?" Shinrin asked her and her voice sounded like a death knell from heaven. "Do you renounce your evil ways and embrace she who bore you into this life?"

"Y-Yes," the woman sobbed softly, turning away from the terrible sight. "Anything. Just please - - don't hurt my son!"

"The Mother Forest loves all her children," Shinrin said and the woman dared to hope that she might be spared. "Accept her ways into your heart. Now go and sin no more."

Rising up tentatively, her son clutched to her as she rose, the woman snuck a peek at Shinrin to see if she meant it. When she saw Shinrin's placid face, the woman nodded gratefully and scurried off toward the crowd of followers. As she picked her way through the broken bodies of people she'd only yesterday shared a life with, her lower lip began to quiver. Her pace slowed as the shame of her acquiescence began to wash over her.

Then the loud crash of a barn being flattened slapped her across the ears and sent her scurrying for safety.

"Is there anyone else?" Shinrin challenged, looking around the decimated village. "Is there anyone else who still defies the righteous word? Don't hide from me! I am the holy vessel of the Mother Forest and through her eyes I see all! You cannot hide from the truth!"

"And you can't hide from your actions," she heard Queen Serenity say.

Shinrin turned to the voice. She saw Serenity approaching, seeming to glide rather than walk across the grasses of the village outskirts, as if the grass were too profane to touch her shoes. To her right was Sailor Moon, the Moon Scepter at the ready and her pink hair and pink skirt softly rustling in the breeze. To her left was Sailor Eichi. Shinrin's eyes flared with anger at seeing her former friend and senshi. Then they shifted onto Serenity, banishing Eichi from all conscious thought. Behind them was a tall, dark-haired man dressed in unfamiliar grey clothes and a cloak. She didn't recognize him, but she recognized his bearing. It was much like her beloved Danro's.

"Danro!" Shinrin gasped anxiously. "Where's Danro?"

"Sleeping," Serenity replied. "He's all right, Shinrin. Unlike you, I don't kill people who oppose me."

Shinrin's mouth hardened.

"Shinrin, how could you?" Serenity sobbed, sick and betrayed. "How could you take your wondrous power and-and perform such evil?"

"I am but a vessel of the great Mother Forest," Shinrin shot back. "How can one as perfect as she commit evil? These huts and implements were a blasphemy in her eyes! Those who refused to embrace her have paid a terrible price, but they brought their pain upon themselves by rejecting the loving hand of she who created us all!"

"And Shoko?" Serenity asked, pained by the very thought. "You did kill him, didn't you? What did he do to earn the terrible price of holy vengeance?"

"Shoko," Shinrin whispered, her confidence shaken for just a moment. Then she grew angry. "Shoko was hounding your daughter! He made you uncomfortable! You would have left Kinotai before you could show me how to control my holy power! He-He was acting against the wishes of the great Mother Forest! I had to stop him! I had to make you stay until you could fulfill your mission! That is why the Mother Forest brought you here!"

"She's totally nuts," Sailor Moon goggled.

"No," Eichi said sadly. "She's blind - - blinded to reality by the fervor of zealotry. She's blind to the pain and destruction she's brought about because all she can see is her single-minded goal that everyone believe as she does."

"SILENCE, BLASPHEMER!" Shinrin roared angrily.

Shinrin lashed out with her power, directed right at Sailor Eichi. Eichi started to move, but she realized she would be too late to avoid the power of Shinrin's thought. Then at the last moment, Serenity's hand shot out and caught the power. Sailor Moon and Endymion both caught the merest whisper of a grunt. They looked over at Serenity and found her grimacing. It was short-lived.

"I don't blame you, Shinrin," Serenity said as she began to approach. "It's my fault you're this way. I taught you how to use your power, but I neglected to teach you how not to use your power. I forgot to instill in you the humility you would need to temper your desire to remake everything in your own image. I just assumed you already had it. I'm sorry."

"Pity?" fumed Shinrin, her eyes blazing. She let loose a blast of energy that Serenity caught and dissipated. "I am the chosen vessel of a power far greater than you, false friend!"

"No, you're not," Serenity frowned. "You're a woman who was given a gift. It made you different from everyone else. It didn't make you better. It didn't give you the right to run everyone's life, to force them into a set of beliefs that they don't believe in. The power of your crystal gives you the responsibility to protect them, whether they believe as you do or not."

"I do protect them!" hissed Shinrin. "I give them the joy of the Mother Forest's love!"

"Then look at them," Serenity said. "Do they seem happy to you?"

Shinrin glanced over at the assembled members of her clan and the "converts" from the Torgus. Some of the more zealous cheered her on. Most of the people simply stared at her with poorly concealed fear.

"NO!" howled Shinrin, turning all of her power onto Serenity. "This is a trick! A trick to make me doubt! I am a child of the Mother Forest! Her bounty gives me strength and life!"

With some difficulty, Serenity caught the discharge from Shinrin and dissipated it. Endymion moved to aid her. Serenity and Endymion clasped hands, Serenity drawing from Endymion power to strengthen her. Shinrin continued to pour all her energy into her frontal assault on Serenity. Serenity just stood there and took it, like an adult waiting out the petulant tantrum of a child. Finally Shinrin began to weaken until she sank to her knees in exhaustion. Only then did Serenity release Endymion's hand and approach.

"It hurts me to do this, Shinrin," Serenity said, "but you leave me no choice."

A beam of silver light shot out of Serenity's eyes. It struck Shinrin chest high. The woman instantly howled in agony, struggling in vain to escape the beam. Only when Serenity stopped the beam was Shinrin released to crumple to the ground.

"What," gasped Shinrin hysterically. "What did you do? I can't connect with my power any longer! What did you do?"

"Removed your crystal," Serenity said, the weight of her actions crushing her. "You're not worthy of it, Shinrin."

"Traitorous," Shinrin gasped weakly.

"Please do not descend into bitterness and hatred, Shinrin," Serenity warned. "They will be your end. Reflect on what happened and why. Learn humility. Accept your own fallibility. One day I will return. If you have learned humility, learned to cherish all life and not just those who agree with you, I'll return your crystal."

"Go then," Shinrin mumbled, weary and defeated. "I would gladly sacrifice the power of my crystal if it means you never return to Kinotai! Go!"

Serenity sighed. "I'm sorry, Shinrin." She turned to Sailor Eichi. "Endymion and I neutralized Danro's power, too. Please find it in your heart to forgive them. Try to reach them. Try to show them where they went wrong and how they can find the proper path once again."

"If they'll listen," Eichi replied skeptically.

"They will if you're kind enough," Serenity countered with a hopeful smile, "and persistent enough."

A nudge from Endymion alerted Serenity to the crowd. The surviving Torgus were advancing on the now powerless Shinrin - - and they weren't happy. Quickly Serenity stepped in their path and the mob fell back.

"Please," Serenity begged earnestly, though her reputation of humbling Shinrin carried more weight at the moment. "I know you're hurt and angry. But vengeance accomplishes nothing save more pain and tragedy. Shinrin has paid for her crimes. Please let her go in peace. You have wounded to tend to and a town to rebuilt. That should be first in your mind."

Serenity turned and glided off, flanked by Endymion and Sailor Moon. Sailor Eichi and some of the mob stared after her in awe. When they were far enough away from the village, she sagged against Endymion.

"Mom?" Sailor Moon gasped anxiously.

"Just a little tired, honey," Serenity sighed. She nestled up against Endymion as his arm cradled her against him.

"I thought you extended yourself a little more than you thought you were going to," Endymion chuckled. Serenity shot a pouty look at him.

"OK, she was a little, well, more fervent than I thought she'd be," Serenity fussed. "It worked out."

"But Mom," Sailor Moon posed, "how can Shinrin live without her crystal?"

"She can't, not for very long," Serenity related. "That's why I really didn't take it."

Her daughter gaped at her and Serenity fought the urge to giggle.

"I just blocked her connection to her crystal. It's still there. If, someday, she learns to actually love others for who they are and not who she wants them to be and genuinely wants to help them, then I'll restore the connection." Serenity snuggled closer to Endymion. "Although if that does happen, I think the crystal will reconnect with her on its own."

They continued to walk toward the river.

"I don't believe it," Sailor Moon whispered.

"You don't believe what?" Serenity asked.

"You lied to her!"

"Well," flushed the queen, "sometimes you have to, well, do things like that to accomplish a greater good. Please don't be disillusioned."

"No, it's not that," Sailor Moon said. "It's just that, as long as I've known you, you've acted like your nose would grow if you ever told a lie!"

"Usa, don't exaggerate," sighed Serenity.

The pink senshi glanced wickedly at her mother. "In fact, I think it does look a little longer."

Instantly Serenity's hand shot to her nose. It didn't feel any different. Then she noticed Sailor Moon's smirk.

"YOU LITTLE BRAT!" roared Serenity. Sailor Moon dissolved into laughter. Even Endymion began to laugh and Serenity's petulant glare couldn't stop him.

* * *

Rei stirred first. Still groggy from sleep, she looked up into the heavens without realizing at first what she was looking for. Then comprehension kicked in. Turning to Hotaru, who was sleeping next to her, Rei nudged the girl awake. 

"What is it?" Hotaru asked blankly.

"They're home," Rei smiled.

Within moments of Rei's statement, a beam of light struck the aero-pad, building up to a blinding radiance. When it dissipated, Endymion stood flanked by his two favorite women, Queen Serenity and Sailor Moon. Rei and Hotaru ran up to them.

"Serenity? Are you hurt?" Rei demanded frantically.

"I'm all right," Serenity smiled.

"Usa? Oh, Usa, I was so worried when I heard there was trouble!" Hotaru cried, clutching her friend by the shoulders.

"It got a little hairy. But," and she glanced at her mother tenderly, "we handled it."

"Hairy?" Rei gasped. "What happened?"

"Things didn't go exactly as planned," Serenity alibied.

"What did you do?" demanded the priestess.

"WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I DID SOMETHING?" Serenity howled.

"BECAUSE I'VE KNOWN YOU FOR A THOUSAND YEARS, DITZ!" Rei shot back.

"YOU UNGRATEFUL THING! AND AFTER EVERYTHING I'VE DONE FOR YOU!"

"AND ALL THE GRAY HAIRS YOU'VE GIVEN ME!"

"C'mon, Hotaru," Sailor Moon grinned, reverting back to Princess Usagi, "they're probably going to be 'reconnecting' for a while. How about we grab a shake in the dining hall and I'll tell you all about Kinotai."

"That sounds great," Hotaru smiled back. "I hope somebody's up."

"If nobody's there, I'll make them," Usa shrugged.

"You can do that? I thought they locked up the food at night."

"I'm the princess. I've got free run of this place."

With the angry shouts of Rei and Serenity in the background, the two teenagers headed for the door and quieter surroundings.

* * *

Ves-Ves sat at her desk in class, staring at her classroom computer hookup. Her exam grade was attached to a cyber-note from Mizuno-sensei and the girl was hesitant to open it. For one, she didn't want to see the grade, because she knew it would be a bad one. She'd studied and studied, but once the test got underway it was like she'd sprung a leak in the back of her head and everything she'd studied poured out. For another, she knew it was another of Mizuno-sensei's diplomatic notes that basically said that she was an utterly hopeless idiot, but that she shouldn't give up - - if you read between the lines. 

"Nobody ever won anything by running away," Ves-Ves muttered to herself and touched the crystal on the computer pad.

Sure enough, she scored a 55. And sure enough, Mizuno-sensei included a note full of five syllable words and diplomatic names and phrases, all of which amounted to how she should keep trying even though she was a hopeless moron. Ves-Ves let out a gust of frustration from her nose.

"Fifty-five, huh?" Usa said, peering over her shoulder. Ves-Ves's anger welled up, but the sympathetic tone to the Princess's voice kept her angry retort in her throat. "Don't give up, huh? You'll do it."

"Yeah, that's what everyone keeps telling me," grumbled Ves-Ves. "So what did you get? Oh that's right, you didn't have to take the test."

"I took a make-up." Ves-Ves looked at her with amazement. "Pop insisted. Just because I'm Princess of this place doesn't mean I get off easy."

"What'd you get?"

"Eighty-six."

"And you didn't even study!" Ves-Ves huffed bitterly. "Man, I wish everybody would stop pussy-footing around and just say I'm an idiot!"

"Ves-Ves," Usa began, "instead of beating yourself up for what you can't do, maybe you should be proud of what you can do. Didn't you ace the zoology test we had last month?"

"Well," Ves-Ves shrugged, "it's animals, you know. Me and animals are kind of tight."

"There's lots of things you can do," Usa persisted, "and lots of things you can't. Don't stop trying, just don't hate yourself for failing." The girl got up, pink hair trails bobbing behind her, and headed for the door.

"Hey, Princess," Ves-Ves said suddenly. Usa stopped and turned to her, and Ves-Ves suddenly felt the need to avert her eyes. "Um," and the girl's jaw clenched, "t-thanks."

Sensing that speaking would only make an awkward situation more so, Usa nodded encouragingly and exited.

"Wow, you got a fifty-five!" gasped Cere-Cere from over Ves-Ves's shoulder. "And you've got the nerve to call Palla-Palla 'stupid'?"

"It beats a zero," smirked Ves-Ves, "and at least I'm not a Priss like you."

"STOP CALLING ME A PRISS!" Cere-Cere roared back.

* * *

Usa sat on her bed, her back propped up against the ornate headboard. A laser stylus was in one hand and a memory pad rested on her thighs. She was in baggy crystalline fiber light blue warm up pants and a breathable polymer silver gray sports bra. As her long pink trails of hair brushed her bare upper arms, she concentrated on the emerging picture on the memory pad. The laser light of the stylus activated light sensitive pixels in the memory pad, retaining the image 'drawn' on it. The stylus glided over the pad with more effort than the princess liked, taking many wrong turns that had to be deleted. But a picture was emerging. 

Of course she'd never be satisfied with it.

"HOTARU'S HERE!" chimed the environmental control computer. The young waif glanced up at it in mortification as she entered the room. When Usa bi-passed her father's security program to let Hotaru into her room without a security check, she also programmed the exclamation into the normally level voice of the computer.

"Usa," sighed Hotaru. The girl wore a white peasant blouse and conservative black slacks. The princess smirked devilishly at her friend's reaction. "When are you going to change that?"

"I like it," the princess grinned. "I like the way it makes you blush." Hotaru gave her a withering glare, but they both knew there was no malice behind it.

"Are you drawing again?" Hotaru asked. She crossed over to her friend, the embarrassment of the computer's announcement forgotten.

"Yeah," Usa shrugged indifferently. "I got the itch again, you know? It's been a while."

"It has been a while. I'm glad to see you drawing again. I always thought you were really good."

"I'm all right," Usa said. "I'll probably never be as good as - - well, some people."

"I've told you before, Usa. You don't have to be as good as other people as long as it's something you like doing. Maybe you'll never be as good as," and Hotaru hesitated, "well, Michiru-mama," though they both knew who she really meant, "but that doesn't mean you have to be. As long as you like doing it."

"OK, OK, I've heard this sermon before. You're right, already. How many times do I have to say it?"

"A few more," Hotaru smirked. "You don't say it that often."

The princess wrinkled her nose at her friend.

"So how was your date with Yutaka last night?" Usa asked, devilishly changing the subject. Hotaru blushed on cue.

"It was nice," she whispered.

"Just 'nice'?"

"Did I ask for intimate details from the last time you were with Helios?" Hotaru asked indignantly.

"Yes," Usa replied.

"Did you tell me?"

"Touche," the girl scowled. Usa added a few lines to her drawing. "Ready to commit to the 'L' word yet?"

There was an unusual silence.

"I think so," Hotaru whispered finally. Usa reached out and clasped her friend's hand.

"I'm glad for you," Usa smiled. Then her smile grew wicked. "You two going to name your first child after me?"

"I wouldn't dream of putting the poor thing under that much pressure," Hotaru replied with wicked humor of her own.

The two friends exchanged sly looks. Then they burst into girlish giggles.

THE END


End file.
